Fairytail - Fight For My True Love
by jmwilshaw1205
Summary: This is my first fanficion. A NaLu story. Lucy goes out on a mission, but she doesn't come back. Natsu realises his feelings for her and waits for her. He finds out a A Dark Guild named Devil's Eye has taken her hostage. Natsu rushes to her rescue. Can the Dragon Slayer save her and confess his feelings to Lucy before its too late? OC involved. Rated T
1. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Kingdom of Fiore. Magnolia.

It was a normal day like any other for Fairy Tail. Mages coming in and out of the Guild taking jobs or returning from them. And the brawling in the middle of the hall.

"What did you say flame face?!"

"Bring it on ice stripper!"

As always, Natsu and Grey started brawling in the halls, hoping to go up against one another. This time around, it seems like Natsu picked on Grey about his relationship with Juvia, since he still hasn't given her his answer on how he feels about her. Who likes who, is none of Natsu's concern (he doesn't really care), but he likes to tease Grey from time to time about it. Seems like this time he stepped over the line.

"Oi, stop fighting! Men don't fight over this—"

"SHUT UP!"

And with that, both guys punched Elfman in the face and knocked him down, which further infuriated the big muscle man with the white hair. Next thing you know, he's joined the brawl too.

"Ala ala, they're at it again"

"When will they ever grow up?"

Lucy sighed while sitting at the bar watching the fight. Mirajane was working and smiling at the brawl that included her younger brother.

"Don't you mean: will _HE_ ever grow up, Lucy?"

Lucy's face turned into a bright shade of red after that comment from Mirajane, who had her devilish smile on.

"Don't tease me like that Mira-san! It's not like that! We… w.. we're just friends! We're comrades!"

"Ok, ok, I get it", said Mirajane with a big smile, "but you know, you two would make a really cute couple. And he hasn't kept his eye off you the whole time, even in that fight he's been looking at you when he had the chance"

"WHAT!?"

"You really are cute at times, Lucy, and sometimes as dense as Natsu is."

Chuckling at Lucy, Mirajane returned to work behind the bar, while Lucy was plunged into deep thoughts about what she was just told.

_Natsu looks at me? Impossible! I'm not his type, definatly not! Am I? Why am I even thinking about this?!_

With her head at war with her heart, she returned to look at the brawl that was still happening. This time, Gajeel had joined in, and he had the pink haired Dragon Slayer in a headlock.

"Give up, flame ball!"

"Over my dead body, scrap eater!"

Luckily for Natsu, he was being headlocked towards the bar, so he was able to get a glimpse of the blonde haired celestrial mage. The look on her face made the Fire Dragon Slayer change his face colour (not just because of him getting strangled). Since the end of the Grand Magic Games, his thoughts towards Lucy have changed dramatically. He still thought of her as his best friend, his teammate, his comrade… but there was something else that was creeping into his mind. Whatever he does, whatever mission he takes, Lucy creeps into his mind. Even now in a fight, he's thinking about her…

_Stop thinking about her! Not now!_

He managed to get out of the headlock and punched Gajeel in the face. By then Gray and Elfman were already k.o'ed, so it was up to the two slayers to settle this.

"That's it! Iron Dragon's—

"Fire Dragon's-

"QUIT IT!"

and _BHAM!_ Both were knocked unconscious by Erza Scarlet. Erza was able to tolerate their fight until their dragon breath attacks; it would have destroyed the guild building. They just moved back into it, and no-one is going to destroy it again straight away.

"Geez, will you boys grow up for once?! Quit fighting!"

"Quit it Erza, we're grown-ups! This wouldn't have started if Gray-"

"Oi, don't put me into this, flame face!"

"What did you say ice pervert?!"

"Bring it on!"

"Bring i-"

"I SAID, QUIT IT!"

Next thing Lucy saw, was all the guys on the floor knocked out by the famous Titania. She sighed, but chuckled a little bit at the pink haired mage on the floor being knocked out. She felt guilty for laughing at him, but it's only Natsu. She went up to him and kneeled down:

"You ok, Natsu?"

"Yeah…"

"You shouldn't have teased Gray like that, you wouldn't have been beaten by Erza."

"Oh come on, I was only kidding!" getting up, he was still glaring at the ice mage on the floor. "If you could tell I was kidding…"

"Ok, but you can't tease people about stuff like that!"

"Stuff like that? Stuff like what?"

Sighing, Lucy face palmed. She knew Natsu was a bit dense with feelings, let alone understanding emotions, but she didn't know he could be THIS dense and naive.

"Stuff like feelings! Obviously Gray was pissed off that you teased him about Juvia. He still hasn't given his answer yet, you just can't come on and do that"

"Really?! He got mad at that?! How can he? It's not that impor—"

"Stop it there"

"Why?"

Natsu asked, but seeing the glare in Lucy's eyes, he stopped midway and shut up. _God what is up with everyone?_, he was thinking, _Its just feelings! You don't need to think about it, It's just there! It's like me when I think of Lu—_

He froze. _When he thinks of who?_ _Wait, what did I just think? When I think of… of… Lucy?_ _What?! _Now he was confused. He was never good at figuring out feelings like this, let alone understand emotions of caring for someone else deeply. He's always been the type of "action first and ask questions later". But now, it seems like he was realizing something he's been carrying for a while, but never thought about it properly until now.

"Natsu?"

The Dragon Slayer stopped thinking and came back into focus. He completely forgot he was thinking in front of Lucy.

"N- nothing."

He felt his face go up a couple of temperatures. He looked away, and ran out of the Guild. Lucy looked at his back running out, her head full of questions.

_What was that about? His face before he ran out... was he blushing? That Natsu was blushing?_ _I wonder what he was thinking…_

Sighing, Lucy returned to the bar, picked up her belongings, and went to the job board, looking for a mission she could take on.

What she didn't realize, that the job she will take, would end in dire consequences…


	2. Chapter 2 - Realization

Chapter 2: Realization

Natsu was letting steam out by training in the forest near his home, trying to forget what happened in the guild.

_I like Lucy? Really? Ok, I think of her as a friend, well more of a friend…. What is that? Gah, what am I thinking?!  
_  
But it's no use. Whatever move he tries to practice, whatever magic he tries to muster, the blonde celestrial mage's face keeps coming into his mind. Her face when she smiles, her face when she is angry at him, her face when she's sad… every single face expression creeps inside him.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!"  
…

"WILL YOU KEEP IT DOWN!?", somebody complained behind him.

Natsu looked back. Behind him under a big green oak, Laxus was standing up wiping his eyes.

"You woke me up, you jackass."  
"How was I supposed to know you were napping here? Anyway, why are you here?"  
"I was about to nap in my usual place in the guild, when a certain someone started a brawl…"  
"That wasn't my fault!"  
"Oh really? Who's fault was it then?"  
"Why you—"

Natsu tried to square up to him, but changed his mind and backed-off instead.

Laxus was surprised:

"What's up with you? You never pull out of a fight", _especially against a S-Class mage like me _he thought.  
"Not in the mood"  
"Not in the mood? Mr. -I'll become an S-Class Mage and I'll be the strongest mage in Fairy Tail Natsu- is not in the mood?"  
"Oh shut up!"  
"What's bothering you?"  
"Wha-"  
"For someone who's as dense as you, something must bother you, or else you wouldn't be acting like this."

Natsu growled under his breath at the Thunder Dragon Slayer for calling him dense, but he was right.  
He thought about talking to the grandson of Master Makarov about this, but decided against it.

"It's nothing, … it's nothing at all."  
"Ah, ok then."

That said, Laxus started walking back to the guild.

"Wait, you're not going to ask again?!"  
"I only ask once, and you said it was nothing. Not my problem now, kid."

Natsu had a shocked expression written on his face while the S-Class mage continued to casually walk away. _So he's just going to leave me like this?!  
_  
"If you're thinking about the blondie, might as well make a move you know."  
"What?!"

Natsu looked confused. What did he just say?

"You can't leave her hanging for much longer. She's not going to wait for you to make a move and it'll get worse for you."

And with that, the broody Thunder Dragon Slayer returned to the guild, leaving the pink haired mage in deep thoughts.

Well, he was some fat help! What does he mean, make a move? What move? What was he talking about?!

He was pacing around his house, thinking about what to do next. He was so occupied with his thoughts that he didn't realize Happy returned and was trying to talk to him.

Making a move…. Making a move…. Gah, I don't get it!

"DAMN IT"  
"WAAA!"  
"What? Oh god, sorry Happy"

Screaming out, Natsu scared him to death. The small guy almost fell to the ground.

While the Dragon Slayer apologized, he thought of talking to Happy about his little problem.

"Happy?"  
"Yes, Natsu?"  
"What do you think of Lucy?"  
"Lucy? I think she's really nice, a bit idiotic at times and sometimes annoying."  
"Annoying?"  
"Aye!"

Natsu laughed at the blue exceed. Happy can be really straight-forward at times.

"I think she likes you though…", Happy grinned.  
"What?!"  
"She lllliiikesss you~", Happy sayed rolling his tongue.

Great. First Laxus, now Happy. Natsu facepalmed himself before sitting down with a serious expression on his face.

"Natsu?"

_Why is this so hard to understand? I don't get it! I DO like her! _

Natsu froze:

_Wait, what? I like her? I like her as a friend! Hell, more than a friend! We go on missions together all the time! We keep getting into trouble, we fend of enemies together! When she calls for me I'm there for her! Hell, I've slept in her bed a couple of times!  
_  
That thought gave Natsu a vivid imagination, to which he had to shake his head.

_Ok, that was unexpected. Don't think Lucy'd like that. But ok… I do like her. And… now what?  
_  
"Happy, what would you say if I like Lucy?"  
"You llliiiikkeee her" Happy did the same tongue rolling gesture and Natsu's face turned red. Happy seemed surprised:  
"Oh, you aren't joking?! Sorry Natsu!"  
"It's ok, Happy. Now that that's sorted, I need to find out what I have to do."  
And with that, Natsu returned to the guild.


	3. Chapter 3 - Where is she?

Chapter 3: Where is she?

Natsu returned to the guild, looking for a certain celestrial mage, wanting to talk to her. There weren't that many people in the guild today, but he couldn't find her afterall. Thinking Mirajane might know where she is, Natsu went up to the bar.

"Hey Mira!"  
"Hey Natsu, what is it?"  
"Have you seen Lucy around?"

Although she didn't show it on the outside, Mirajane was squealing on the inside. _Finally! _she thought.

"Yes, she's gone out on a mission with Juvia, they should be back by tomorrow the latest."

Slightly crestfallen, Natsu sat down on the chair next to the bar.

"What did you want to talk to her about?"  
"What? Oh ... nothing.", Natsu said avoiding eye-contact.  
"Nothing?", Mirajane asked curiously.  
"Em..."

Natsu didn't know whether to talk to Mira about it. But in the end he decided to do it. She has always been there for everyone in the guild; she might know what to do.

"About… well, how she feels…"  
"Feels?"  
"…feels about me."

This time, Mirajane couldn't contain herself. She dropped the glass she was cleaning and covered her mouth squealing loudly.

"Oh Natsu, finally!"  
"He?"  
"You finally realised your feelings towards her!" She felt like she was about to cry. _Natsu, the most dense person Fairy Tail has ever known, finally confesses his feelings!  
_Scratching his head shyly, Natsu admitted, "Yeah. I don't know if it will work out, but I want to know how she feels."  
"You have nothing to worry about Natsu", said Mirajane beaming. Mira knew well enough how the blondie felt towards Natsu, especially after the Grand Magic Games and the Dragon King's Festival.

For Natsu, he always felt a deep connection but it intensified after seeing the future version of Lucy, and how she sacrificed her life to save the present Lucy. The look on the Dragon Slayer's face when he was in battle, he was hurt beyond he what he had ever known. Since then he vowed he will never lose Lucy again, whether it was now or in the future.

Damn, I really do like her. I'm worried about myself, being so dumb!

"All right, I'll come back tomorrow!" Smiling, Natsu left the guild, intending to come back tomorrow to greet the celestrial mage. His friend. His comrade. His love.

– Three days later –

Again, Natsu was waiting in the guild. It's been three days since Lucy headed off. She hasn't returned yet. It is normal that a job can take longer than expected, but this job was just helping out the town mayor in opening a new museum. What was taking her so long? A hinge of fear started creeping into the Salamader's mind.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Grey at the bar. He's not showing it, but he's worried about Juvia. He hasn't told anyone about his decision concerning her, but rumour has it that he likes her. However, she too hasn't returned yet.

_Where are they?_


	4. Chapter 4 - To Rescue Her

Chapter 4: To Rescue Her

Its been three days since Lucy should have returned to the guild. There's been no sign of her, and Natsu was starting to worry. What if something happened to her? He knew not to underestimate the celestrial mage, and Loki (Leo the Lion) would have been there to protect her. Thinking of Loki fighting side by side next to Lucy made Natsu feel a twinge of jealousy, but he knocked that thought out of his mind straight away.

While he was waiting at his seat, he caught a glimpse of the ice mage in the corridor. _What's he pacing up and down for? …Oh. _

Natsu remembered. Juvia left on the same mission with Lucy and hasn't returned either. It seems he's made up his mind. Although he doesn't hate her, he does not think he likes her as much as she likes him. However, it seems he would be willing to give it a try. Natsu accidently heard Gray talking to himself while going through a simulation. Hearing that, Natsu thought of making fun of the ice mage, but decided against it. He learned his lesson not to joke around when feelings are involved.

_Geez, Lucy really made me think about things that usually don't come into my mind, _Natsu thought.

Just as Natsu turned his back, someone barged through the door. The next thing he heard was Kinana and Biska screaming:

"Oh no!"

"Are you two all right?!" Natsu asked.

"JUVIA!"

Gray's scream echoed around the guild, and hearing Gray's voice like that, Natsu knew there was no good news. He turned around, and saw Loki in his spirit form, badly injured but managing to keep conscious. Juiva on the other hand, was in a worse state; she's suffered multiple cuts and bruises, and she was bleeding heavily, being carried by Loki. Natsu was in a state of shock: Juiva is a water mage, no physical attack should be able to hurt her. Whoever it was, it must have been a powerful mage to do such a thing.

"Juvia! Wake up! JUVIA!"

Gray's scream was still echoing through the guild. He was trying to hold Juvia, but Loki was holding him back.

"Not now, Gray. Where's Wendy? Juvia needs healing. Now!"  
"She's not here, she's on a mission with Charles and Panther Lily"  
"Shit!"

"I'll help!" Lisanna yelled from the back, "I'm not as good as Wendy, but I can still use healing magic"  
"Yes please. She hasn't got long!"

While Loki carried Juvia into the medical room, Cana ran out of the guild, intending to bring Polushka. Gray was just standing there with an expression of terror in his face. The thought of him talking to Juvia about their situation quickly left his head; all he was able to think about, was whether Juvia was going to be all right or not. /What if she doesn't make it? No, don't think like that! She's a mage of Fairy Tail! She will survive! But what if…?

SMACK.

Something hit him and Gray rubbed his head. "Ow! Who was that?!"  
"It was me", a low voice spoke behind him.  
Gray looked behind. It was Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer.  
"What did you do that for?!"

SMACK.

Gajeel hit him again, this time in the face. Stumbling back, Gray positioned himself into his normal battle formation.

"What's the big idea?! Stop hitting me! Want me to turn you into a Popsicle?!"  
"Then wipe that grim look off your face"  
"Wha—?"  
"Juvia will be all right. She will get through this"

Gray stopped and looked at the ex-enemy of Fairy Tail. "How do you know that?! We have no idea how bad her injuries are yet!"

"She will be ok. How long do you think I've known her for?" Gray stared into Gajeel's eyes. Although he was able to mask it well on his face, his eyes couldn't hide the fear in them; he too was worried about his friend. But then, Gajeel has known Juvia for years, back in Phantom Lord and now at Fairy Tail. Slowly, Gray lowered his arms. "Sorry" he said. Natsu couldn't believe his eyes. Gajeel comforting a fellow mage and Gray apologizing?! But then, his eyes tried to find the celestrial mage. But he couldn't find her anywhere; Lucy was nowhere to be seen. Natsu stumbled, she hasn't returned with those two.

Inside the medical room, Loki was being tended by Kinana, while Lisanna was doing her best to heal Juvia. Her wounds were deep; if it wasn't for her water magic she would have lost one of her arms. Lisanna kept her focus and made sure Juvia's wounds didn't open further; she was losing dangerous amounts of blood.

_I can't keep this up_, Lisanna was thinking. _But I need to keep my concentration! Please, someone hurry! _

"She's here!"

With that shout, Cana rushed into the medical room with Polushka behind. The human hater would normally have kicked any person out of her home, but the look on Cana's face showed that it was something serious. Without a word, she collected her medical equipment and followed her into the guild.

She stepped closer to the blue-haired girl lying on the bed: "How long have you applied your healing magic on her?"  
"I don't know, about 10 minutes at least"  
"Good"

With that, Polushka started working on Juvia too. "Keep the pressure on the biggest wounds, I'll make something to stop the bleeding"

An hour later, thanks to Lisanna and Polushka, Juvia's wounds were closing up. But she lost dangerous amounts of blood, and the majority of her magic power was depleted; she was still in a critical condition.

Once Gray was allowed to enter, he refused to leave her side, and after much bickering from Polushka, he was allowed to stay longer. The rest of the guild, however, were kicked out of the medical room, and they all resided in the main hall area, where Loki was explaining to them what happened.

Natsu had to be pulled away; as soon as he found out Loki was ok, he was about to punch the leader of the Zodiac 12 for leaving Lucy behind.

"Lucy and Juvia were shown around the museum that they were supposed to open, it was a trap set up to capture both. It was a dark guild called Devil's Eye"  
"Devil's Eye?" asked Master Makarov.  
"They're a new dark guild, independent from the Baram Alliance. The ones we fought against were saying that they don't care about the alliance, and they want to overpower them"  
"Overpower?!" shouted Gildarts, "I thought the Baram Alliance was keeping all dark guilds in check."  
"They were, but since Orasion Seis and Grimore Heart ceased to exist, and Tartaros wasn't showing any indication of keeping the peace, they rose up to take over. It seems that all the dark guilds are scrapping for power, but this one is particularly strong, they've already wiped out over 50 dark guilds."

There was silence in the room. The Magic Council was worried about the existence of Tartaros and their mystery, but now another dark guild has risen. That was a concern for Fairy Tail; they were the ones who defeated two of the three Baram Alliance dark guilds.

"I don't care what they are, explain why you couldn't protect Lucy!" said Natsu harshly.  
"Stop it, Natsu" said Erza.  
"I won't! Why would I-"  
"I SAID STOP! Don't you think Leo's suffering the most of all of us right now?!"

Natsu halted. He wanted to say more, but Erza was right. Loki was Lucy's friend, most trusted Celestrial, and yet he couldn't protect her. He must be suffering a lot. Composing himself, he turned to Loki. "Sorry" "It's ok, I know why you're angry and you should be. I couldn't protect her…" Loki squeezed his fists in anger and sadness.

"What exactly happened?" asked Titania.  
"They came out of nowhere. Lucy and Juvia were and inside the museum so that they would be able to figure out where they have to be when the opening ceremony begins. It was a trap; there were guys inside waiting for them. The majority was able to be defeated, but the last two were just unstoppable. Their magic was too strong. One was able to grab Juvia and the next thing I know is that she was heavily wounded. I tried to protect Lucy, but she shouted at me to go and get Juvia out of here. I didn't want to, I didn't want to leave her behind. But she kept on insisting that I escape with Juvia; I had to comply. The state I was in I couldn't save both, and Juvia was dying. I had no choice. I…" Loki shed a few tears, where Lisanna comforted him.  
"What happened to Lucy?" asked Natsu.  
"I don't know" said Leo. "The last glimpse I got of her, was when she summoned Gemini and used Urano Memorilia to buy us time to escape. Before then she summoned Cancer, Sagittarius, Taurus and Scorpio. Her magic was already near empty. I looked back again and she was on the floor. I couldn't bear it…" Loki had to pause to calm down, he was on the verge of emotional outrage.

When he managed to compose himself, he said "she's alive. We can feel her bond as long as she's our key master. She's still alive. And as far as I've been contacted from Gemini, they're keeping her alive for something important. But I don't know where she is."  
"Where was the mission?" asked Elfman.

"Halgion" Natsu was silent throughout, but he was panicking inside. Lucy is captured?! I need to save her! Without thinking twice, he ran towards the gate.

"Natsu, wait!"  
"NO! Lucy's in trouble, I need to save her!" with that, Natsu ran out of the guild and towards Halgion. The town where he met Lucy for the very first time.


	5. Chapter 5 - Despair

Chapter 5: Despair

Natsu collected a few of his belongings from his house, and without a second glance he ran towards the train station. But when he arrived, there were already three mages waiting for him: Erza, Gajeel and Laxus.

"What are you three doing here?"  
"Is he always this dumb?" Gajeel asked Laxus, "How on earth do you put up with him?" Laxus merely smirked at the remarks.  
"What did you say Iron Idiot?!"  
"You're going to find Lucy right? We're coming with you"  
"What?"  
"You heard us" said Erza, "She's our friend too, we're going whether you like it or not"  
"But- what about the guild? The jobs? Laxus, you should be on an S-Class mission with the Thunder God Tribe!" "They can survive without me" Laxus replied, "They were single-handedly picked by me, they're strong mages." "Why are you two so concerned all of a sudden?" Natsu asked the two, "I can understand Erza, she's part of our team, but you two….?"  
Coughing in his fist, Gajeel answered, "It's my way of repaying my debt to her. After what I did to her she was one of the few who accepted me here straight away" Laxus followed, "I tried to kick her out during the Battle of Fairy Tail. And besides, someone needs to take care of you troublemaker" he smirked while saying it, but his eyes showed that his words were genuine. Natsu stared at his fellow dragon slayers. He didn't realize they felt so strongly about Lucy. But there was something else his mind was caught on.  
"Did Master tell you guys to follow me?"  
"Yeah, Gramps did tell us." said Laxus straight away. Gajeel facepalmed.  
"No point hiding that. He told us to keep a tab on you. We're going with you. End of story", Laxus made clear this conversation was over. Natsu grumbled, but he was grateful they followed to help him save Lucy.  
"Thank you" He said to the three, "Let's go!"

5 minutes later, Natsu was on the floor of the train, trying to keep his composure from being thrown up.

Gajeel was in the same situation; they were both about to puke. However, Laxus kept his cool, and was sitting on the bench without a sweat. "How…. are you…. not feeling awful?!" Natsu asked.

"Don't talk to me" Laxus said harshly, looking out the window. That basically meant he was focusing hard to not throw up. Natsu grinned, but his smile soon disappeared as he was trying to keep his composure.

"Pathetic. Can't you get over this?" Erza said to the two mages lying on the floor. _I hate you, Erza,_ Natsu thought.

- 2 hours later –

Natsu was slumped on the platform of Halgion station. He was that sick, he couldn't move and didn't want to be moved. Gajeel managed to keep his composure and stood up. Laxus was unfazed but his face looked a shade greener than before.  
"Ok, where do we start?" asked Erza.  
"Well, let's go to the museum first" said Laxus, slowly regaining his normal face colour.  
"They should know what was supposed to happen first."  
They headed towards the museum when… "Wait" Natsu stopped. The other three looked at him in surprise. "What is it?" asked Gajeel.  
"I smell Lucy's scent" the others froze.  
"She's close!"  
"How far?" urged Erza.  
"Not so far. The scent's coming from the town. Only…." Natsu stopped to sniff again, and he froze. "I smell her blood too" He looked forward: "This way!"

"Natsu, STOP!" shouted Erza, but Natsu was already running ahead of her and the other two dragon slayers. He smelled Lucy's blood; he wanted to save her and see that she is all right. Natsu kept running and running. He was getting towards the scent, he knew he was getting close.

_Where is she?!_ He started panicking. _I need to find her! I—_.

Suddenly, beside him, out of nowhere an armoured being clashed into him. Natsu was thrown off balance, but managed to stand up again. "Who the hell are you?! I'm in a hurry here!"

But the armoured being did not answer. Instead it attacked Natsu again with its giant sword.

"That's how you want to play it then?! Fine, bring it!" said Natsu, his fists collecting fire around them. _I can't waste time on this thing! I need to get to Lucy! _

"Fire Dragon's Fist!" Natsu's fire punch hit the armour, but it did not show any damage. Instead, it was absorbing the dragon slayer's magic attack.  
"What the – damn it! How about this!?" He backed up and gathered his magic and shot it at the armored being.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The fire hit the armored being once more and exploded. But when the smoke subdued, his opponent was not hurt; its metal was not even scratched at all.

"What the hell?! Not even a dent?!" The armoured being swung its sword towards Natsu.

Balls of fire shot out from the swing and hit the Fairy Tail mage. "Fire against me?! Really?" shouted Natsu in disbelief, but he soon realized this was no ordinary fire. He couldn't absorb it and it burned him.

"AAARGH" shouted Natsu in pain.

After the fire subdued, the armoured being was in front of him. With one punch he crashed into the wall. Natsu was punched again, this time in the stomach. With one gasp, Natsu was losing consciousness. "Who… are… you?" asked Natsu.

His opponent lifted its helmet mask off. It was Lucy, his friend, his comrade, his one true love…

Natsu looked perplexed. "Lu… Luc-"

Natsu was punched again, and he was knocked out.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Stranger

Chapter 6: The Stranger

Erza, Gajeel and Laxus were rushing towards to the town, trying to catch up to Natsu.

"That idiot" rumbled Gajeel.

"Don't say that" answered Erza, "What would you do if Levy was in Lucy's situation?" Gajeel grumbled once more, but he didn't say anything after that. He knew, if his favorite book worm was in the same situation, he would crush anything to the ground to find her.

"Can you see him?" asked Laxus.

"No. Gajeel, can you pick up his scent?"

"Hold on a second" he sniffed, and his face expression darkened. "He's in trouble. I've picked up his scent, but his blood too. He's fighting against someone, and it's not looking good… This way!" the three ran faster towards Natsu.

Gajeel suddenly stopped and so did the other two, but Natsu was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" asked Erza.

"His scent ends here", said Gajeel, "It just stops here. But seems like he was fighting against something." looking around and seeing the extent of the damage the fight has caused to the buildings.

"Is there anything else you can pick up?" asked Laxus.

"Wait a second…" said Gajeel irritatingly. "Why can't you do this? You're a dragon slayer too!"

"I can't pick up the scent like you or Natsu. I'm a second generation dragon slayer, I wasn't taught by dragons on how to pick up scents. So what can you pick up?"

Grumbling, Gajeel started sniffing the air again. He realized something; unmistakably this was Natsus' scent, but there was also someone else's scent. Someone's who he knew very well.

_This is—_

"I've picked up Lucy's scent too" he said. The other two froze. "She was here. She… she was fighting Natsu." he said with a shocked face.

"What?!" shouted Erza. "Impossible! Why would Lucy fight against Natsu?!"

"I don't know, that's what I'm getting from the scents here" shouted Gajeel angrily. "I've picked up that they were fighting and… Salamader lost. He was taken by something."

"Where?" asked Laxus.

"I don't know. Wherever it is, he must have been teleported. His scent ends here. And Lucys' too." Gajeel shook his head. "We won't find him here."

Gajeels' statement made the other two's expressions darken. "Back to square one then" huffed Laxus. "Where do we go from here?"

Erza shook her head. Even the mighty Titania didn't know where to look without any clues.

"Why don't you pick up the darkness around here?" a voice shouted from somewhere.

The three looked around. They couldn't see anyone. "Who's there?" shouted Erza. "Show yourself!"

"And you're called the mighty Titania. How disappointing." smirked the voice, "I'll show myself then. Look into the shadows."

The three looked around. They couldn't see anybody.

"I'm here" said the voice. The three looked back, and from the shadows of the wall, a man stepped out. Well, not really a man. A guy who was in his late teens, push it, maybe early 20's. He was wearing black clothes, black boots and a black coat.

"Who are you?" Erza asked the person sharply. Gajeel and Laxus were in battle positions.

"Calm down, I'm not here to start a fight with you. I'm here to help" said the person in black. "My name's Vincent Roses. I'm a freelance mage and I was hired to investigate the Devil's Eye."

"Who were you hired by?" Erza inquired. Vincent grinned. He heard rumors about the famous Titania, but he was well surprised by the aura she possessed. And the fact that she was really rude. _No wonder she has a reputation_ he thought in his head.

"Crime Sorcière" Vincent answered. Erza froze when he said the guild's name.

"The independent guild Jellal's in?" asked Laxus.

"Yep. I was asked if I could investigate Devil's Eyes motives for them. They're busy trying to stop the dark guilds' civil war from spreading to the open, and now that Ultea's gone, they're stretched thin. I'm stepping in to help."

"What do you mean, a civil war?" questioned Gajeel.

"I will answer that later", said Vincent sharply. "Right now, I need to talk to your master. We need to head back to Magnolia."

"What about Natsu and Lucy?! We need to find them!" shouted Erza.

"Calm down Titania." said Vincent, "They're not here anymore. I think the iron guy already said that to you. There's no point staying here. I need to explain a lot of things to your guild. Let's go"

"But-"  
"Quit it, Erza. Let's go" Laxus told the S-Class mage.

"Do you trust him?" Erza openly challenged the grandson of Master Makarov.

"Jellal will be at the guild too" shouted Vincent, who was heading towards the station. Erza stared at him. "Oh, did I not mention that? Must have slipped my mind, sorry" he chuckled slightly.

Grumbling, Erza followed Vincent, while Laxus and Gajeel looked at each other. They didn't say anything, but they both thought of the same thing; _She's going back to see her lover boy, isn't she? Oh the mighty Titania has fallen_.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Shocking Truth

Chapter 7: The Shocking Truth

A couple of hours later, the four arrived at the guild. They walked in, and in front of them was Makarov talking to Jellal. Meledy was sitting on the bench, talking to Mirajane.

"Master, we're back"

"Jellal!"

"Erza!"

With that shout, Erza ran into Jellal's arms. They were hugging for a minute or two, until Makarov and Vincent coughed into their fist.

"s.. sorry" Erza said shyly, her face going scarlet red as her hair. "Its good to see you again"

"Me too" said Jellal with a smile.

_Jeez, get a room you guys_, Vincent thought. As he saw the master, he bowed. "Its good to see you again, master Makarov"

"Its good to see you again too Vincent. You've grown up" said Makarov with a smile.

"Can't be a kid forever" Vincent smiled back.

"You know the master?" asked Erza.

"Im one of the 10 Wizard Saints. Master Makarov trained me years ago, before you guys disappeared for 7 years"

"You're one of the wizard saints?!" Gajeel said with a surprised tone.

"Im number 7. I could be in a higher rank if I wanted to but I'm not interested"

"Where's Natsu?" asked the master.

The three didn't answer. "Master… we…"

"He's been taken by the enemy. We don't know where" answered Laxus.

Makarov scratched his head, having a worried look on his face. "So it is true…"

"Is that true? Natsu's gone?" asked Jellal.

"Yeah. Salamander's gone, and they're got Lucy too. Seems like the intel I got was true. This is bad" answered Vincent. "Very bad"

"What should we do?" asked Marakov.

Vincent looked at the master of Fairy Tail with a serious expression. "Master, get the whole guild in here. I need to explain the situation. Its more dire than I thought"

An hour later, all the mages of Fairy Tail were gathered in the Guild hall. Juvia was being carried by Gray in a princess manner, which she loved. Although Gray looked as though he didn't enjoyed it, secretly he did.

"Gray-sama…" Juvia said with her eyes shaped like a heart.

"Don't look at me" said Gray sheepishly, but under his eyes were blushing slightly.

"Jeez, get a room you guys" Vincent facepalmed. "Oh wait, you guys _were_ in a room together", he continued with a sarcastic tone.

Gray and Juvia glared at him, but Vincent took no notice. "Everyone here? Good"

"Ill just say it. Devil's Eyes are trying to conquer the world"

The mages of Fairy Tail were astonished.

"That's why they're wiping out all the other dark guilds. They don't want to get distracted by other dark guilds disturbing them. Its civil war in the dark world at the moment"

"But how are they planning to take over the world?" asked Master Makarov.

"By using the Eclipse Cannon. They're planning to lure the dragons from 400 years ago into the present time"

"Impossible!" shouted Gray. "Lucy destroyed the Eclipse when the dragons first came out after the Grand Magic Games"

"Well, it wasn't completely destroyed. Fragments of the Eclipse remained. The Fiores managed to destroy most of the fragments, but one was able to get into their hands. They managed to construct the second Eclipse, but they need a vast amount of magic, and a controller to open the gates"

The Guild Hall was silent. Most of them were in shock; when the dragons came through the first time around, none of them were able to defeat one dragon, even with the dragon slayers by their side. If the dragons returned in vast numbers, the world as they know it will end.

"Wait a second, how are they going to control the dragons?" asked Erza.

Vincent answered with one word, which sent fear down Titania's spine.

"Acnologia"

Even Master Makarov was shocked by this. "Acnologia?"

"Yes. With the Dragon Kings power, they can control the dragon race"

"Impossible!" Shouted Gildarts. "Acnologia is pure power with a conscience. Nothing can control that"

"I can" everyone was staring at Vincent. "I'm the Dark Dragon Slayer. I was raised by Acnologia"

There was silence in the guild hall, so silent, that you can hear a pin drop. Finally, Jellal answered, "When were you going to tell me and Meledy about this?"

"You guys already knew, cut the crap", snapped Vincent. "Acnologia is pure power, but he still used to be human. When I was still a small kid, I was near death, and he saved me. He showed me the way, taught me Dragon slayer magic, until he disappeared like the other dragons"

"But that's not important. Devil's Eye are intending to use a kind of Lost Magic to bring Acnologia under its control. It's called Dark Mind, it's an ancient spell where you can control a soul using Darkness. If they have a mage that can cast a spell that strong, its possible that they can control him"

"Even if they can control the brute" asked Gajeel, "How are they going to use the Eclipse?"

"Dragon Slayers" Gajeel and Laxus stared at him. "Dragon slayers have vast amounts of magic in them. More than any mage on this earth. If they can muster enough dragon slayer magic, the Eclipse will be operational"

"What about the controller?"

"That's where the celestrial mage comes into the picture. They're planning to channel the magic through the celestrial mage to Eclipse, opening it. The celestrial mages' power to connect bridges between worlds is the key to open the gateway from 400 years ago to now. That's why they're keeping Lucy alive. They're going to sacrifice her to open the gate"

The mages of Fairy Tail shocked by the revelation. That means…

"you two and me will be targeted by them" Vincent told Laxus and Gajeel. Keep your head up and watch out for trouble"

"Where's Wendy?" Cana suddenly asked.

"She's not back yet?!"

"Shit!"

"No, someone try to contact her!"

"She's gone!" someone shouted from the front door. Everyone looked at the front, and there was Panther Lily, holding Carla, both heavily injured.

"LILY!" shouted Gajeel, and he ran towards his exceed partner. "What happened?!"

"We were attacked. We tried our best but it wasn't good enough. She's been taken by-"

"Devil's Eye" Vincent finished for him. "They're moved faster than I expected. We need to act fast"

"Laxus! Gajeel!" Shouted Master Makarov. "Go with Vincent and find their layer. We need to rescue our family!"

"But master, we have no leads!" said Erza. "How can we find them without any clues?"

"I said look into the darkness, didn't I?" said Vincent. "Let me look" He raised his hand towards Panther Lily and Carla.

"What are you doing?! They're both hurt!" shouted Erza.

"Quiet!" shouted Vincent. "Cross me one more time, Titania, and I will shut you up"

Erza was ready for battle against the Dark dragon slayer, but looking into his eyes started sparking fear in her. Just like when she was taken prisoner in the Tower of Heaven. When she lost Jellal for the first time… When he was taken away by the Magic Council for his crimes…. the sadness and hollowness that made her suffer…. Next thing you know, Erza started screaming in fear. _No, not again! Not these emotions!_

"Vincent! Stop!" shouted Jellal, while trying to hold Erza from collapsing.

"She asked for it" growled Vincent, and his eye colour changed from black and orange to normal. "Well now she knows not to interrupt me"

Erza was panting from the fear, but Jellal kept her in his arms, so she was able to calm down. The other Fairy Tail mages were glaring at the Dark Dragon slayer.

"For Fuck's sake" grumbled Vincent. "Look, this will only take a minute"

"Are you sure?" asked Happy. "Will you be able to find Natsu and Lucy?" The blue exceed was nearly in tears. Vincent smiled at him, "Don't worry, I will find them. Don't cry, Happy. Stay strong for Salamander and Lucy Heartfilia"

Happy wiped his tears away, and looked determined. "that's more like it" said Vincent. And with that, he raised his hands towards Panther Lily and Carla. "Sorry, this will only take a second" and with that, he started focusing.

As soon as he started focusing, something started to come out from Lily and Charla's body. The mages of Fairy Tail were astonished.

"what is that?!" shouted Gildarts.

"Darkness" answered Vincent. "Devil's Eye used dark magic, once it hits an opponent it sticks to them. From this I can find where the layer is"

"how long will it take?" asked Meledy.

Vincent looked at her, and smiled: "already found it. Meledy, use your crystal and pinpoint the location Im going to tell you now. We'll find them"

- far away from the Guild, in an area where darkness rules all -

Natsu was still unconscious from the fight he had. He was drifting in and out of reality.

_That was Lucy…. No, it can't be…. Lucy… Lucy!_

"LUCY!"

He woke up with that shout, but realized he was chained to the wall.

"So, you have finally awaken, Dragon Slayer"

A mysterious figure wearing a cloak answered.

"Who the hell are you?! Where am I?! Where's Lucy!"

"Such questions. Why should I answer them when you're going to die?" the figure smirked. "But, I will not be rude to our guest. I am Hardener Vannoss, lieutenant of the guild Devil's Eye. You're in our layer. And Lucy… well, the celestrial mage is no longer your comrade. She is under our control now, isn't that right?" he looked beside to him, "_Lucy?_"

From the shadows, the amour being stepped out. It was Lucy. Natsu was shocked, and was terrified when he heard her say these words,

"Yes, Hardener – sama. For Devil's Eye" and she smirked at Natsu, without any emotion, only darkness.


	8. Chapter 8 - Declaration

Chapter 8: Declaration

"No! You're not part of them! You're part of us! Fairy Tail! You're Lucy!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Shouted Lucy and she swung her sword at Natsu, slashing him.

"GAH!"

"Speak again, Dragon Slayer, and you will suffer more than that"

"Enough" spoke Hardener. "Bring the little one in"

"Yes, Hardener – sama" Lucy disappeared for a second, then reappeared with another prisoner. Natsu recognized her in an instant. It was–

"WENDY!"

The Sky Dragon Slayer was thrown onto the floor. She was heavily injured, and was losing consciousness.

"Lu… Lucy-san-"

"Silence!" Shouted Lucy.

Next thing Natsu saw, Lucy smacked Wendy in the face, and she was knocked out cold.

"Know where you position is", she said with a smirk.

Natsu was shocked seeing this. _This isn't Lucy. What is going on!?_

"Oi, you! What did you do to Lucy you bastard!" he shouted at Hardener.

Hardener looked at Natsu with sorrow in his eyes, "Oh? You care for her? What is she? Your true love?"

Natsu tried to pull away from the walls, but the chains were too strong. He tried to conjure magic, but he couldn't gather fire onto his fists.

"The more you do that, the worse it is for you" smirked Hardener. "Those chains contain and suck magic out of you. The more you use, the less time you have to live"

Natsu looked at the chains, and he felt his magic getting drained out of him. "Why are you doing this?!", shouted Natsu.

"So we can rule the world", proclaimed Hardener. "And you and your _precious_ are going to be a part of it"

"You Bastard! I will beat you, I will! Lucy! Wake up!"

Hardener laughed. "Impossible. With Dark Mind cast on her, she is forever ours" He turned around, "Come, Celestrial Mage. We have work to do. Bane!" Shouted Hardener. From nowhere, another guy with a black cloak showed up. "Tie the Sky Dragon Slayer on the chains. She's weak but her magic will help charge the Eclipse"

"Yes sir"

"Oi! Don't you dare touch Wendy! Why you-"

"I said, SHUT IT!" and Natsu was smacked again by Lucy.

Natsu's head dangled in mid-air, but once he got his composure, he looked up at Lucy, "Lucy… please, come back to us. Come back to me"

Lucy didn't move. She didn't say anything. But her face was expressionless, emotionless, and her eyes only showed darkness. She didn't say a word, and walked off following Hardener. After Wendy was chained to the wall, Bane followed her outside.

Natsu couldn't believe it. _Lucy…. No…. _He screamed. He screamed from the top of his lungs. While Bane stepped outside the chamber, he thought of one thing, _his scream… it sounds just like a dragon_.

**– Far away from Devil's Eyes' layer, in Fairy Tail's Guild –**

Meledy was scanning the area Vincent told her to. It was almost an hour since he told her the coordinates of the area the Devil's Eye's layer was. While they ware waiting, all the mages of Fairy Tail were getting ready for battle. Or, as Master Makarov declared, "_War_".

While everyone was getting ready, Gray was talking to Juvia. They were arguing. "Juvia said she will go, so Juvia will go!"

"I said NO!" shouted Gray. "You're still injured. If you go in your state, you might never be able to come back!"

"Juvia doesn't care! Juvia wants to save Lucy and Natsu-san!"

"I will go, so you stay here!"

"Why is Gray – sama insisting Juvia stay behind?! Is it love rival?"

Gray facepalmed. "I thought you wanted to save Lucy"

Juvia stopped talking for a bit, but then said, "but but…."

Gray grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her into him. He pushed his lips onto hers, as softly as he can. Juvia was shocked at first, but she then closed her eyes and enjoyed the softness of Gray's kiss.

"I promise you I'll return to you" Gray said to Juvia after they broke off the kiss. "Ok?" with a smile.

Juvia, face as red as Erza's hair, nodded. "I will wait for you, Gray"

Gray was surprised at her sudden change in her speaking. "You're not going to call yourself in third person anymore?"

"If you want me to", she said with a wink. Gray laughed, and went in to hug her.

Erza saw the whole thing between the two, and her face was scarlet red like her hair. Jellal was laughing at her in a joking way.

Vincent was looking at Fairy Tail while all the commotion was taking place around him. _So this is the guild that won the Grand Magic Games. Stopped the dragons from coming through the first time around. Defeated Oracion Seis and Grimore Heart. Stopped the Pheonix from destroying Fiore. The Strongest Guild in the kingdom_. Then he smiled in a sad way, _Now I can see why. Their light… it's so bright and warm_.

Out of the corner, Mirajane started talking to Vincent, "Why the sad face?"

"Excuse me?" Vincent said.

"You looked as though you were sad"

Vincent did a double take, "You observe well" Looking at the guild, he said to her, "It's just so bright, your guild. The light is shining bright" he looked at her, "I feel envious you're in a guild like this"

"Why don't you join us?" said Mirajane with a smile.

Vincent stared at her with a "what did she just say" look. Then he smiled, "thank you for the offer. But I can't" he looked at the guild again, this time with sorrow in his eyes, "I promised myself back a long time ago I won't join any guild again. Its just too much"

"What's too much?" asked Mirajane.

"The pain." He said with a sigh.

Mirajane was looking at Vincent in a sad way. She didn't even need to ask; she can see something was still hurting him in the inside, after all these years. She put her hand on his shoulder, "If you need comfort, you're always welcome here. Fairy Tail's doors are always open to you"

Vincent turned around to look at her. His face looked as though he was about to drop a tear, "Thank you, Mirajane." He finished with a smile, not a smirk or a sarcastic smile, but a genuine smile from the heart. Mirajane smiled back, her face changing to a slight shade of pink.

"Call me Mira"

"Thank you, Mira"

"Found it!" shouted Meledy.

"Where did the coordinates lead to?" said Vincent, breaking the focus on Mirajane and focused on the crystal Meledy was holding. The guild members also gathered around the table.

"The Forest of Ashura" Meledy answered.

Vincent looked into the crystal with a dark expression, "The forest of Anger and Darkness" he looked upon Fairy Tail, "perfect hiding spot for them. The Darkness of the forest will cover anything there"

"So we found them", Master Makarov said with a hint of anger in his tone. That tone even sent a twinge of fear down Vincent's back, _He's old, but his aura hasn't changed at all_.

"Brats!" shouted Master Makarov. "We're going to war". Fairy Tail roared. The battle between Fairy Tail and Devil's Eye has begun.


	9. Chapter 9 - War

Chapter 9: War

At the layer of Devil's Eye, lieutenant Hardener Vannoss was talking to the other members of the guild. All the members were wearing black cloaks, hiding their faces.

"The time is near. The Sky Dragon Slayer had more magic than I thought. With the Fire Dragon Slayer's magic, Eclipse is near 90% charged"

"Good" said a hooded figure sitting on a chair. This was their guild master, Master Arthur Pendragon. "And the celestrial mage?"

"She's completely under the influence of Dark Mind", said Bane. "She will never return to her normal self ever again"

Master Pendragon smirked, "Excellent. That will burn the light out of the Fire Dragon slayer. He was too bright for my taste" He looked at the other members, "And the civil war?"

"We've wiped out most of the dark guilds that were in our way with my shadows. No-one will stop us with our plans. Tartarus is not even interested in what we are doing" a hooded figure said.

Master Pendragon chuckled, "This is too easy"

"But we have a problem" said another hooded figure.

"And what is that?" asked Master Pendragon.

"Vincent Roses" Master Pendragon froze, looking at the hooded figure, anger starting to come across his face.

"He cannot do anything now" the master said with an angry tone. "He failed to stop us the last time, what power does he have now to stop us now?"

The hooded figure didn't say anything. Master Pendragon continued, "We have the Darkness on our side. Nobody can stop us now"

"Yes master" all the hooded figures said.

BOOM.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the building. The hooded figures and Master Pendragon were startled. "What was that?"

"Master!" shouted a mage, coming into the room. "We're under attack!"

"By who?" shouted the Master.

"Fairy Tail!"

– Outside the Devil Eye's layer –

"Lightening Dragon's Roar!"

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

"Dark Dragon's Roar!"

Laxus, Gajeel and Vincent's attack rocked the building once again. The Front Gate of the layer was protected by a magic barrier, but was crumbling by the Dragon Slayer's magic attacks.

"Once more! Gray!" shouted Master Makarov.

"Ok!" shouted Gray. "Ice Make… Wall!" and he froze the front gate once again.

"Ill open it", said Gajeel"

"Dragon Slayer Technique; Devil Demon Iron God Sword!"

And with a crash, the front gate was blasted open.

"This is it", said Vincent.

As the gate fell onto the floor, tens of mages merged out from the front gate, intending to attack Fairy Tail. The Fairy Tail mages were battle ready. Soon, the battles between the Devil Eye's mages and Fairy Tail mages began.

"Go!" shouted Master Makarov. "Get to them! Save Natsu, Wendy and Lucy!"

Out of the battles, Vincent, Mirajane, Erza, Jellal, Gajeel, Laxus, Gildarts and Cana broke through the ranks, getting into the building.

"Where do we go?" shouted Erza.

Vincent focused. "This way" and they went.

Suddenly, an attack came out of nowhere and attacked the Fairy Tail mages. They all managed to evade the attack, and looked upon where the attack came from. Out of the shadows, a hooded figure came out.

"Your fights end here, faires" growled the hooded figure.

"Ill handle him" said Gajeel. "You all go ahead"

"You sure?" asked Laxus.

"I said go!" shouted the Iron Dragon Slayer.

They all went, with Erza shouted back at him, "don't die, you big brute!".

"Are you sure you want to fight me by yourself?" asked the hooded figure.

"It will only take 5 minutes" said Gajeel, making his signature laugh.

"Are you sure?" said the hooded figure. He took his hood off, and Gajeel knew the opponent. He worked under him once, it was…

"Master Jose?!"

"Correct, Gajeel – san" The former master of Phantom Lord said with a smile.


	10. Chapter 10 - Gajeel vs Master Jose

Chapter 10: Gajeel vs Master Jose

"Wh.. why are you here?! You joined forces with them?"

"It was necessary. Their power was great and I was weak. With this power, I can take my revenge on Fairy Tail and the Magic Council for defeating me and disbanding my guild" He looked at Gajeel with in a strong look of hate. "I heard you and Juvia joined them. How could you, after they defeated you, you joined the enemy?!" he ended with a shout.

Gajeel looked at his old master with a plain face, but after the shout, he looked at him in sorrow. "That is why you got defeated, Master Jose"

"What do you mean?" asked Master Jose.

"You cannot stay in the darkness for eternity. You have to step out into the light. You-"

"SHUT IT!" shouted Jose Porla in a fit of rage. "Seems like I have to re-educate you" Gajeel felt magic coming from Master Jose's body.

Sighing, Gajeel got into his battle position. "Bring it on, Master Jose"

"Shadow demons, appear!" shouted Master Jose, and from the shadows, figures that looked like demons appeared.

_Shadow Demons? They're different from the Ghost soldiers he used to summon_, Gajeel thought.

"Iron Dragon's sword!" Gajeel's sword changed arm slashed the demons apart, but they reemerged together after the attack.

"What? How about this?!"

He stepped back and gathered his magic.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

His breath shattered the shadow demons, but they re-emerged again.

"So physical attacks cannot harm them"

"That is correct, Gajeel – san. And you're nothing but a physical attacking mage. No dimension in your attacks" said Master Jose with a smirk.

"Hm. Then how about this?" and with that, Gajeel changed his skin into Iron armor.

"Armored skin? Like that is going to help here" smirked Master Jose.

"You have no idea" Gajeel smirked back. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" and with that, Gajeel's attack hit the demons again.

"You are just wasting your time! They cannot be attacked physically! You have no chance!" shouted Master Jose. "Demons, attack!"

But something was wrong. The demons tried to attack, but couldn't move from their standing positions. Suddenly, they all evaporated, screaming in pain.

"What the- what the fuck did you do!?" shouted Master Jose, looking towards Gajeel. Then he realized light was shining off from Gajeel's body.

"Im the Iron Dragon Slayer. My Dragon roar is a bunch of metals flying out. If I can get the light to hit my armor from the metal pieces in my breath, I can reflect the light. These demons can't survive. Seems like these demons carry your weakness"

Looking at Jose Porla's white hair and white eyes, he commented, "You still haven't recovered from Master Makarov's Fairy Law, have you?"

Master Jose was full of rage. "SHUT UP!" He was gathering the darkness. "How dare you speak to me li-"

"Iron Dragon's Fist!"

The attack from Gajeel struck Jose's stomach. Jose coughed out and flew in the air.

"Iron Dragon Arrow: Demon Spear Head!"

Gajeel's spear changed arms attacked Jose again and again. Jose screamed in pain until he crashed into a wall.

"How… are you that… strong?" Master Jose panted while trying to get up.

"I'm not strong. You are just weak" spat Gajeel. "You fell into the darkness willingly"

Master Jose was looking at his one time guild pupil, eyes full of hatred. "What is this nonsense you talk about?! Darkness rules all! It is the perfect weapon to kill your opponents!"

"Kill? Have you actually fallen that far?" said Gajeel with a hint of anger in his voice. He didn't like the master much when he was in Phantom Lord, but he still thought as one of the Wizard Saints, he would not go that far.

"Fallen? More like risen. This darkness has given me power!" shouted Master Jose, raising his arms.

"Shadow Era!" and he pointed his arms towards Gajeel. All of a sudden, darkness circled around the Iron Dragon Slayer, trapping him. The shadows then attack him, which was causing him pain.

"ARGH!" shouted Gajeel painfully.

"These damn shadows! Iron Dragon's Sword!" but no matter how many times he tried slashing, the darkness will not go away.

"You think you can defeat my darkness with that petty attack?!" Jose Porla laughed. "You will suffer for your betrayal of Phantom Lord!" and with that shout, he continued attacking Gajeel.

"GAAAAH" screamed Gajeel in pain.

"Hahaha!" laughed Master Jose. "How do you feel now?!" But Gajeel didn't answer. "What is it? You're that hurt you cannot talk?" he smirked.

However, Jose started to realize something. The darkness that was surrounding Gajeel started to disappear. As he was staring at it, he saw Gajeel was sucking the darkness in.

"How are you doing that?" said Jose in a shocked voice.

"I've done this before", said Gajeel.

Shadows were coming out of Gajeel, yet he still possessed the Iron Dragon Slayer magic.

"Iron Shadow Dragon Mode" he smirked.

"That's… that's impossible! Nothing can suck the darkness like that!"

"I can" and with that, Gajeel attacked Master Jose.

"Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar!"

Gajeel's attack hit Jose square on. With a painful scream, Jose was flown back, crashing into walls, and finally fell onto the floor.

"How… why…" panted Master Jose.

"Because you let go of the light", said Gajeel. He was heavily injured, but his wounds were not life threatening. "I almost made that mistake"

"Then… what… kept you from… falling in… to the abyss?"

"My friends" said Gajeel. Master Jose was shocked to hear those words from him. "I know you never heard those words from me when I was working under you"

"But Fairy Tail showed me the way. They saved me. They saved me from falling into the darkness. They showed me there is light in the world, one light that will never disappear, no matter how dire the situation is"

"Fairy Tail was the reason why I got stronger. I fight for my comrades, my friends. I fight to protect my guild, Fairy Tail"

And with that, Gajeel turned his back on who was once his master, and head on further into the layer.

"Salamander owes me one", he grumbled while tending his light wounds, but he said with a smirking smile on his face.


	11. Chapter 11 - Laxus's Fight

Chapter 11: Laxus's fight

While Gajeel was able to defeat Jose Porla, the rest of the Fairy Tail mages were heading towards the dungeon where Natsu and Wendey were held prisoner.

"I hope Gajeel's ok", said Mirajane with a worried tone.

"And you were called the Devil Mirajane all those years back", smirked Vincent, to which Mirajane stared at him angrily. "You've seen him fight before, right? Trust him, he's a Dragon Slayer."

Looking up ahead, he said, "I'm not part of your guild, but I trust him. He's strong." Now looking at Mirajane, he said, "He's seen into the darkness, he knows what will happen if you fall into it. He'll be fine, I'm sure of it" he ended it with a smile. That smile made Mirajane smile back, but with a slight blush.

_And he was the one who told Gray and Juvia to get a room_, thought Laxus while looking at the two. _How the tables have turned_, he ended his thought with a snigger.

"Which way is it?" asked Gildarts.

Vincent focused again. "This way"

"How do you know where you're going?" asked Cana.

"Dark Magic" Vincent explained. "Both Salamander and the Sky Dragon were attacked by dark magic. I can pick that up, and home in on where their location is"

"Besides", Vincent continued, "Can't you feel the magic flow around us?"

They all stopped and focused. They realized that magic was being channeled from all around into one point.

"That's where they are" said Vincent. "We're close"

**– Meanwhile, in the dungeon –**

Natsu was still struggling to get away from the chains. But no matter how many times he tried to wield his magic, the chains were sucking his magic away from him, rendering him weaker. Wendy, on the other hand, could not move due to her injuries, and with her magic stock getting weaker and weaker, she was starting to lose her life.

"Natsu-san…" said Wendy weakly.

"Wendy, stay focused! Don't lose yet! I'll get you out of here!" He pulled and pulled, but the chains did not budge at all.

"Damn it!" screamed Natsu. _What the fuck am I supposed to do now!? I need to save Wendy! And Lucy, where is she!?_

Suddenly, he heard voices outside the dungeon door.

"Thunder Dragon's Spear!"

With a bang, the dungeon door was destroyed by Laxus's attack.

"La.. Laxus.."

"Natsu! Are you all right!?" shouted Erza, who barged into the room.

"Erza, forget about me! Help Wendy!"

Erza tried to cut the chains off, but it did not even put a dent into it.

"What the?! How strong are these chains?"

"I'll try.", said Gildarts.

"G…Gildarts…" said Natsu in a nervous tone. "Don't do it too mu-"

It was too late.

"CRUSH!" shouted Gildarts.

A vast amount of power hit the chains, and a massive explosion took place. Everyone took refuge; Laxus took his composure, Erza was protected by Jellal, Cana hid behind a wall, and Mirajane was covered by Vincent.

The explosion ended, and the dust settled. But, even with Gildart's attack, the chains did not break.

"Alya? Even that didn't work?"

"GILDARTS!" shouted Natsu, his hair turning into afro due to the explosion. "What the hell man! You almost killed me!"

"Sorry Natsu", said Gildarts sheepishly, while getting glared by the rest of the mages.

"Pathetic." Vincent rolled his eyes. "And you call yourself one of the strongest mages in the guild?! How do you put up with this guy?" Vincent asked Cana, pointing at Gildarts.

Cana laughed at that accusation.

"Oi, I do try!" said Gildarts in a panicked tone.

"Um, guys?"

"Shit! Sorry Natsu"

While they were busy trying to cut Natsu's chains, Vincent and Mirajane were working on freeing Wendy.

"Is she ok?" asked Mirajane.

"No" said Vincent. "Her magic's almost all been taken, and the wounds are deep. We're cutting it close here"

Mirajane looked at Vincent in a worried expression.

"Don't worry Mira. I'll save her" said Vincent. And with a flick of a finger, the chains shattered.

"What the, how did you do that?!" shouted Gildarts. "Even my magic didn't dent the thing!"

"These chains are made out of darkness" explained Vincent. "Darkness sucks everything in, no light can shine through. And darkness is the strongest element there is"

As he explained that, Vincent went over to break Natsu's chains. In a second, the chains were broken, and Natsu almost slumped onto the floor, if not of Vincent's help.

"You ok Salamander?"

"I… think so. Who are… you?" asked Natsu weakly.

"Vincent Roses. We'll get you out"

"But wait! Lucy…"

"She's lost. You won't get her back"

Vincent's words enraged Natsu. The next thing everyone saw, Natsu was engulfed in fire, while Vincent was blocking it with darkness.

"You don't know that! You don't know JACK SHIT!"

"Calm down, Salamander!"

"NO!" shouted Natsu. His scream shook the walls around, and even Vincent felt a twinge of fear. _He's stronger than I thought_. _And his scream… is he really…_

"Fire Dragons-"

"Natsu, STOP!" shouted Erza and Laxus.

"We need to get Wendy out of here!" shouted Mirajane.

"I'm onto that" Said Gildarts, holding Wendy in his arms.

"I'm coming with you dad" said Cana. "I'm more useful there than here"

"Not so fast, fairies" said a voice from the door. A hooded figure stepped out from the shadows again.

"Geez, how many of these guys are there?" asked Gildarts sarcastically.

"Four" answered Vincent. Everyone looked at him, "They're called the 4 Masters of Darkness. He's one of them"

"You did your homework, Vincent", sniggered the hooded figure. "How long has it been since?"

"I'm not sure, you tell me" said Vincent, "_Ivan_"

Laxus did a double take. "Ivan?!"

The hooded figure laughed. "I see. So there's no point in wearing this" He took the hood off and looked at Laxus, "Good to see you again, my son"

There stood Ivan Dreyar, the son of Makarov and father of Laxus, and the ex-master of Raven Tail.

"I'm not your son" said Laxus coldly. "I knew you're good for nothing, but I can't believe you've fallen this far"

"Well well, it seems like we have a disagreement here" smirked Ivan. "Let me show you how powerful I have become, the Sky Dragon there knows it for sure" he ended with a laugh.

"So you're the one who hurt Wendy?" said Mirajane. Vincent felt the aura coming from her, _Wow, she's angry. Mental note not to get her angry like this_.

"I'll beat you up!" shouted Natsu. "You're in my way!"

"No, Natsu" said Laxus. "I'll deal with him"

"What?! But-"

" I SAID" said Laxus again firmly, "I'll deal with him. This is my fight"

Natsu wanted to protest, but saw the anger in Laxus's eye. He backed down.

"You guys go ahead. Find Eclipse and destroy it. Find the blondie, Natsu" Laxus turned around to say to the Fire Dragon Slayer, "Tell your true feelings to her. She will return to you"

Natsu stood there shocked, but readjusted his positon. "I will!"

With that, everyone left the dungeon, except for Vincent. "Be careful, Laxus" he warned. "He's stronger than before"

"I don't care" said Laxus. Vincent could feel lightning and thunder starting to form around Laxus. _Woh, he's strong_. _He's mad too_. With that, Vincent left the dungeon.

"Are you sure you can defeat your own father, Laxus?" said Ivan Dreyar.

"You are not my father. You hurt Wendy. You gave gramps a bad name" said Laxus, his voice calm as a lake, but his tone was nothing but anger. "You are an enemy of the guild. I will defeat you so you will never show your ugly face in front of me or my friends again"

With that, Laxus went in to attack Ivan.


	12. Chapter 12 - Laxus vs Ivan

Chapter 12: Laxus vs Ivan

"hahahaha!" laughed Ivan. "Defeat me, Laxus? Let's see about that then?!" he moved in to attack.

"Shikigami Dark Bomb!"

"Thunder Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"

Both magic attacks clashed at each other, causing an explosion. Once the dust submerged, both mages were punching each other. They were 50-50, but Laxus managed to get one punch into Ivan's stomach, forcing him to retreat.

"Raging Bolt!"

Thunder struck Ivan and he screamed in pain.

"Thunder Dragon's Spear!"

Laxus's thunder spear hit Ivan directly in the chest, and exploded. Ivan screamed in pain more. However, the scream soon changed into hysteric laughter, which made Laxus frown.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because it is funny" Ivan continued to laugh hysterically. "It's funny you're attacking me, isn't it? Hmmm…" he continued, which made Laxus feel weird about this man standing in front of him.

_What has happened to him? Has the darkness consumed him that much?_

"You're insane"

"Insane, am I? Well well" Ivan laughed. "We'll see about that!" With that, he put his two hands together and clapped. Magic started to gather around him.

"Dark Gate!"

A dark gate formed of darkness formed in front of Laxus. The dark gate opened, and a being stepped out of the gate. It was a woman. It was…

"_Mum_?"

"Hahahahahaha!" screamed Ivan with laughter. "Glad to know you haven't forgotten about your own mother!"

Laxus's expression was nothing but shock. He couldn't believe Ivan would scoop down to that level.

Laxus's dead mother attacked him again and again, him blocking it. He couldn't attack his mother, _that's mum, I can't. I – _

He looked into his mum's eyes. They were emotionless, no light in them. It was only darkness projecting from them

_No. That is not my mother. She was full of life. That is not her!_

Ivan then sniggered. "Can you hurt your own mother, Laxus?"

_That FUCKER!_

Laxus clenched his fists. Lightening started to form around him, and created a force field around the Thunder Dragon Slayer. Laxus's face was murderous.

"Thunder Dragon's Roar!" he screamed.

Laxus's attack hit the dark being (his mother) and hit Ivan. Ivan screamed in pain.

"How.. can you do that?! That's your own mother!"

"No it's not" Laxus replied. "My mother is dead. And it was a mistake" he stepped towards Ivan, "to bring her into this. How dare you bring her back like that?! How DARE you tarnish her memories like this?! HOW DARE YOU!" he finished with a scream.

Ivan only sniggered as he got up. "Well well, a child's tantrum. I'll stop that" He went to attack Laxus again.

"Black Hole!"

Laxus was ready to attack, but realized his thunder was getting sucked into the hole his father created. He tried to call more magic to create thunder, but his magic was being sucked out of him.

"Now you will know the wrath of my anger!" he said, while raising his right hand, and pointed at Laxus.

"Black Thunder!"

Black thunder struck Laxus from above. Laxus anticipated this, but he didn't realize it was stronger than he thought. He let out a scream of pain.

"ARRGH"

"HAHAHA!" screamed Ivan. "Take that, you scum of a son! Another, and another!" Ivan kept pointing his finger and Laxus, and the attacks continued.

"How does it feel getting attacked by your own magic, hmmm? Asked Ivan with a smirk.

Laxus was still standing, but his injuries were getting worse and worse. Part of his arms were burnt heavily, and his left eye was shut from injury.

"What… are you try… ing to accomplish with siding… with them?" Laxus panted to his father.

"What I want to achieve?" said Ivan Dreyar, sounding dumbfounded. "To restart my life"

Laxus froze with that statement. "What?"

"I… I want to restart my life! I want to get rid of this world, and start over! I have lost everything! EVERYTHING! I will rid this world that has failed me, and restart in the new one!"

"YOU IDIOT!" shouted Laxus.

Scales started to form on both of Laxus's arms. His thunder changed from yellow to purple, and back to yellow. It was-

"Dragon Force" Ivan said.

"But how can you use Dragon Force? Second generation Dragon Slayers cannot activate that"

"It's not Dragon Force. This is my anger", said Laxus. His tone was that cold and intimidating, Ivan took a step back.

"Anger?" shouted Ivan. "See about THIS!"

Darkness surrounded Ivan, and consumed him, making him just as intimidating as Laxus. Laxus was unfazed by his father's sudden change.

"This is it", said Ivan in a dark tone.

Both mages took a step back, gathering their magic in one place; their fists. When they were both ready, they went in for their final move.

"LAXUS!"

"IVAN!"

Both men's fists collided against each other, and caused a massive explosion, with light engulfing the middle. There was a flash of light, and everything went silent.

Laxus was standing there, in the light. He opened his eyes, and his surroundings was gone; there was nothing but light around him.

"What is this?"

"What are you doing here?" said a voice from behind him.

He looked back, and it was Ivan. But he did not look like Ivan in the present; he looked younger, more mature, and with light in his eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I'm your father. Well, what's left of him anyway", said the being.

"Where are we?"

"I'd thought you'd be smarter than that. Where do you think we are?"

Laxus looked around, and realized, "I'm in my father's… heart?"

Ivan smiled, "That's my son" which made Laxus look away.

Ivan chuckled. "I'm not surprised you look away. I wasn't a good father as I wanted to be"

"What happened to you?" asked Laxus.

Ivan looked around. "As you have guessed, this is in my heart. I used to look like this, until I was consumed by my own hatred and darkness"

"I tried to be the best for you, Laxus, even if you won't believe me. I tried, but I couldn't do it. I let my greed and my arrogance get the better of me. I forced Master to get me kicked out of Fairy Tail. I swore revenge on the guild, and you. When you didn't follow me, I thought you abandoned me. That's when I let the darkness into my heart. I thought I could gain more power to overcome you and the guild. But that was wrong"

Ivan looked into the distance, "I let the darkness consume me like wildfire. I wasn't me anymore. The person you were fighting against is what I have become now. I cannot turn back"

He looked back at his son, "I'm sorry, Laxus. For everything"

Laxus was dumbstruck. He was staring at the shadow of his father, what he was before the darkness started to consume him. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?! I would have told you why I stayed! Fairy Tail is my home, my family!"

"I know", said Ivan. "Never let go of that, Laxus. They will be there for you, forever. Master too" Ivan smiled, "_father_ will always be there for you"

Ivan started to disappear from the legs. Laxus was staring at it, "What is happening?"

"My time is up", said Ivan. "The darkness has completely consumed me. I am finished. When I go, Ivan is dead"

Laxus stared at his father's heart disappearing. "Don't look like that" chuckled Ivan. "It's not much of a loss, I wasn't a good father to you"

"You're still my dad"

Ivan stopped chuckling, and looked at Laxus. He was crying. "No matter how much pain you caused to me, my friends, to gramps, you are still my dad. I will never forget that"

Ivan looked shocked. Then he smiled sadly, a tear dropping from his eye, "Thank you, Laxus"

Ivan was almost completely disappeared. "Can you do me one last favor?"

"What is that?" asked Laxus.

"Tell the Master… tell my dad…. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't make him proud. But I was glad that he was my father"

Laxus was crying. While sobbing, he nodded.

Ivan smiled for one last time, "Thank you Laxus. My son. Goodbye"

And with those last words, Ivan disappeared.

**- Outside Devil Eye's layer - **

The fight between the Fairy Tail mages and the Devil's Eye mages was closing to an end. Majority of the Devil's Eye mages were defeated, but some were making their last stand. Master Makarov was near the back, using his Giant magic and crushing all opponents.

While he was fighting, Makarov felt a severe pain in his chest. He kneeled down on one leg, wondering what the pain was. But then he realized. He felt what had happened. He felt… he felt….

"Master, are you ok?" asked Meledy.

Master Makarov didn't answer. When he looked at Meledy, he was crying. "Nothing, my child" he said. He wiped his tears, and looked upon the last of the remaining Devil's Eyes mages.

"Lets get this over with", he said with a tone which Meledy knew too well; he was fighting to not cry.

**- Back in the Devil's Eyes layer - **

The light subdued, and the dust settled. In the middle of the room, a crater had formed. Inside the crater, Laxus was kneeling on one knee, using his left arm to keep balance. His right arm was damaged severely. He looked upon the floor.

Ivan was lying down on the floor, not moving. He was defeated, his magic depleted, and he had passed on from this world. Yet, his face expression was one of smiling slightly, as though he was at peace at last.

"You were a joke of a father", Laxus said. Tears were flowing down his face. "But you were my dad"

Looking up, he said these words.

"Thank you. I love you, _dad_"


	13. Chapter 13 - Back from the Dead

Chapter 13: Back from the Dead

Natsu and the Fairy Tail mages were running towards the centre of the layer. Once they left the dungeon, they all stopped to feel the magic flow, and realized it was flowing towards the middle of the layer.

"Eclipse is there", said Vincent.

"You sure?" asked Jellal.

"Yeah. Where is all this magic flowing to? It's got to be the Eclipse"

Vincent then turned his attention to Gildarts and Cana, who were tending on Wendy. "Gildarts, get Wendy out of here. She's in no shape to fight, and she needs medical attention, fast"

"No" said Wendy. "I can… still…. Fight"

Vincent leaned into Wendy. He smiled at her, "you really are a Fairy Tail mage, Wendy. But you need to get looked at. You have a more important job later for us"

"What is… that?" asked Wendy, panting through the pain.

"Your healing magic. Who would heal us when all the battles are over? You're the best there is Wendy, and we need you in the best shape possible for that" Smiling at her again, he said, "Please, Wendy. We don't want to lose you"

Wendy nodded. She was crying. "I'm sorry… I'm not being useful"

"You're not, Wendy" smiled Mirajane. "You are a important comrade of us, we don't want to lose you"

"Wendy, you'll not useless!" said Natsu. "You're part of our team! You're part of Fairy Tail!" Smiling at her, he said "Don't worry, we will save Lucy!"

Wendy was crying into Gildarts's chest. "Thank you… everyone"

"We'll go now", said Gildarts. Looking at everyone, he said, "Good luck, everyone"

While everyone was heading towards the centre of the layer, Gildarts stopped Vincent for a minute, "Wait a second"

"Yes?" Vincent asked.

Gildarts looked at Vincent, serious and intimidating. "I don't know who you are, and you are not part of the guild. If anything happens to them, you have me to answer for"

Vincent looked back at Gildarts, as intimidating as him, "You have Wendy to look after. If anything happens to her, you have _me_ to answer, old man"

Gildarts chuckled. No one has challenged him like this before. "You surprise me, dragon slayer. You aren't scared of me?"

"I was raised by the same dragon that almost killed you", said Vincent coldly. "Do you think you can beat me?" he said with a snigger.

Gildarts glared at him more, and Vincent returned the favor. Suddenly, they both laughed.

"I can trust you now", said Gildarts. "Sorry, I wanted to know whether I could trust you"

"It's ok", said Vincent with a smile. "I'd have done the same thing if I was in your position"

Looking at Wendy, Vincent said, "Take care of her, please"

Gildarts nodded. Then he went off with Cana to get Wendy out of the layer.

A couple of minutes later, Vincent caught up with the group. Mirajane looked back at him, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, had to take care of something", said Vincent sheepishly.

Natsu was looking at Vincent. While Vincent was talking to Gildarts, Erza and Jellal explained to Natsu what was going on while he was captured, and how Vincent has been helping the guild to rescue them. But there was something that was annoying Natsu; he couldn't read the mage like everyone else. There was something that Vincent was hiding, and it was bothering him.

"Hey, you", said Natsu.

"Yes?" asked Vincent.

"What are you hiding from us?"

Vincent looked at Natsu. His face expression was impossible to read.

"What do you mean?"

"Cut the shit!" shouted Natsu. "I don't have time for that. Why are you helping us defeating them? What are you hiding from us?" He stepped towards Vincent, "Depending on the reason, I won't hold back" Natsu growled, fire starting to form in his arms.

"Natsu, don't!" Mirajane and Erza both shouted.

"I wouldn't waste your magic against me, Salamander", said Vincent coldly. "Save it for who you're going to fight against"

"Oh yeah? Who is that?"

"Master Arthur Pendragon", said Vincent. "And I'm going to say this now; he's stronger than any of us put together. We'll need all the power we can use"

Everyone was staring at Vincent. They knew the master of this dark guild won't be a pushover, but to be told this bluntly was devastating.

"He's that strong?" asked Natsu.

"Yes", said Vincent. "His power is Master Zero from Orasion Seis and Master Hades from Grimore Heart put together, it's like a black hole, you can't see the end of it"

"We've beaten both of them before" huffed Natsu.

"But not at the same time" said Vincent sharply. "I'm here to help"

"Why?" asked Natsu.

Vincent was quiet for a moment. "Because-"

Before he could finish the sentence, he felt something. He looked up at the ceiling, and a part of it was collapsing towards Mirajane and Erza.

"Mira!"

"Erza!"

Just in time, Vincent managed to push Mirajane out of the way, while Jellal managed to pull Erza to him. The ceiling collapsed, and a wall was created between the two sides. Natsu, Vincent and Mirajane were on one side, while Jellal and Erza were on the other.

"Erza! Jellal!" shouted Natsu.

"Natsu, Mira, are you ok!?" Erza shouted back.

"I'm ok too, if you're wondering" said Vincent sarcastically.

"What are we going to do?" asked Mirajane.

"Fire Dragon's Fist!"

Natsu punched the wall with his signature move, but the wall did not crack one bit.

"What the hell?! No damage at all?"

Vincent closed his eyes, and focused on the wall. He felt Natsu's magic in the wall, and it then disappeared.

"It's absorbing the magic when it's attacked. All the walls here are the same. We can't get through this"

"Then what are we going to do?" asked Natsu.

Vincent thought for a moment, then shouted at the two on the other side of the wall.

"Jellal! Titania! Get around the walls and head to the centre! There should be another way to get there!" shouted Vincent.

"Ok! We'll meet you there!" Jellal shouted back.

With that, Vincent, Natsu and Mirajane headed towards the layer's centre.

"You sure those two will be all right?" asked Natsu.

"You're talking about the famous Titania, Salamander" said Vincent. You of all people know how strong she is. And Jellal almost beat you once before you activated Dragon Force. Those two will be ok" He looked ahead, "I'm sure of it"

"Erza. Let's go"

There was no answer.

"Erza?" Jellal looked back.

Erza was stabbed in the shoulder by a hooded being, the blade stuck deep and went through her left shoulder. Erza didn't say a word; she was shocked from getting attacked so fast.

"ERZA!"

Jellal managed to catch Erza before she fell onto the ground. She was bleeding heavily.

"No! NO! You bastard!" Jellal screamed at the hooded being, while clenching Erza in his arms.

"You fault" said the being. "If you didn't betray her, this wouldn't have happened"

"What?! What are you talking about?"

Erza managed to keep herself conscious, and stood up.

"Equip! Heavenly Body Armour!"

"Erza! Your arm!"

"I'll be ok for a while. You!" Erza pointed at the being with her sword. "You were cowardly in attacking me like that. Let me show you how a real fight is done!"

"No" said the being. "Let me show _you_ how it's done around here. And besides," the being looked at Jellal, then to Erza, "you're as guilty as he is in my eyes"

"What?"

"Tsh. Can't believe you forgot about me, Erza. You of all people" chuckled the being.

Jellal was listening to the being talking. He knew he heard that voice from somewhere. He couldn't pinpoint it, but that statement made him realize.

"No…" said Jellal. "It can't be"

"What is it Jellal?" asked Erza.

"Seems like someone recognized me now" said the being.

Jellal said the being's name, a name which made even Erza look at the being with shock and disbelief.

"_Simon_?"


	14. Chapter 14 - Blast from the Past

Chapter 14: Blast from the Past

"Impossible! That can't be Simon! He's…"

"Dead?" said the hooded figure. Both Erza and Jellal staring at him. Then he suddenly started to laugh.

"Your faces! But yes, I _was_ dead, killed by you, Jellal" said the hooded figure, with hatred in his voice.

"But Master Pendragon brought me back to life, see?" and the hooded figure took the hood off to show his face.

It was Simon, the same man that was trapped in the Tower of Heaven with Jellal and Erza. The man who saved Erza's life but was killed by Jellal when he was possessed by Zeref's ghost. The man who loved Erza but never told her his true feelings. And yet, there was something different about him. His right arm was covered in black and looked more like a claw, his aura was more devilish, and his eyes were expressionless. It was as though someone sucked all the life out of it; there was no light shining from his eyes, there was only darkness that was reflecting.

"Simon… it's really you" Erza said with a shocked expression on her face.

"Yes, Erza, it's me. Now, you will die." and Simon attacked.

"Darkness Fist!"

Simon's right arm punching Erza in the stomach. Erza coughed out a bit of blood, and was thrown into a wall, crashing into it.

"ERZA!" shouted Jellal. He started to enchant and use his magic.

"Heaven Magic: Grand Charlot!"

The seven heaven body magic attacks headed towards Simon. The first three hit him, but the rest were dispensed straight away.

"That's it?" said Simon. "That's all you have?" He focused on Jellal, and the next thing Jellal realized, Simon was in front of him. "Pathetic."

Simon upper cut Jellal, and Jellal flew into the ceiling. Before he hit the ceiling full on, Simon grabbed Jellal by the leg, bringing him down and punched him in the stomach.

"Darkness Fist!"

Jellal was thrown into a wall, crashing into it and the wall collapsed on top of him.

"PATHETIC" shouted Simon. "This is the guy who killed me? Come on, show me more!"

Jellal got up, his forehead bleeding a little. He looked focused, and suddenly, he disappeared.

"Heavenly Body Magic: Meteor"

Jellal was moving faster than Simon can catch him. Attack by attack, Jellal was throwing punches into Simon, making him retreat a little.

"Now that's more like it", said Simon with a glee.

"I don't get it", said Jellal, while moving around fast. "You were never into these kind of fights and battles. Let alone hurting Erza like that!"

"It was necessary", said Simon. "Besides, you hurt her a thousand times more than I did."

Jellal hesitated a second. That second was enough for Simon to grab hold of him. "Tsh, too weak. Your concentration is everywhere."

"Darkness Claw!"

Simon slashed Jellal in the chest, which drew blood from the wounds. "Seems like I was mistaken" said Simon. "You are not the one who killed me" He held his fist towards Jellal. "He was much stronger than you."

"Dark Burst Fist!"

Simon's right fist, full of dark energy, hit Jellal in the stomach like a force of nature. Jellal was thrown through several walls, and finally crashed into one. He fell from the wall and onto the floor, coughing up blood.

"I'm glad Master Pendragon brought me back", said Simon, walking towards Jellal. "I can finally have my revenge on you." He was about to attack Jellal again, when suddenly –

"Heaven: Trinity Sword!"

Erza's attack caught Simon by surprise. She slashed him from behind, which made him lose balance. He fell onto the floor but got up straight away, trying to punch Erza again.

Erza dodged Simon's attack, and used one of her special moves.

"Heaven: Blumenblatt!"

Erza's attack hit Simon full on. He was slashed and slashed again, and was thrown into a wall, crashing into it.

Erza kept her composure, but she kneeled down, her Heaven's Wheel armor disappearing.

Her left shoulder was still bleeding, and she was trying her best to keep her composure. She was coughing, and two of those coughs she was coughing up blood.

"Tsh. Seems like your shoulder is causing you problems, isn't it?" said Simon, while getting out of the debri.

Erza was staring at Simon. She couldn't recognize him it wasn't the Simon she used to know.

"What happened to you? You were never like this!"

"I wasn't" said Simon, keeping his calm. Then he burst out angrily, "Until you fell in love with him!" Simon pointed at Jellal, who was getting up. Erza looked at Simon shocked.

"He hurt you, he made you suffer, he made us suffer, and he killed me!" shouted Simon.

Darkness was starting to surround him. "I didn't protect you and get killed so you could fall in love with him!"

Now the darkness was circling him. "How could you do that?! How?! How did you feel when you're with him knowing that he killed me?! HOW?!"

The darkness that was circling Simon was now engulfing him.

"TELL ME!" Simon shouted at Erza.

Erza was staring at Simon, her expression was one of shock and hurt.

"I… I didn't mean…"

"You didn't mean to hurt me!? Is that what you're trying to say!? Well it's too late Erza!" Simon was gathering all the darkness to his fists.

"And you're going to pay with your life."

He swung both of his arms towards Erza.

"Darkness Cannon!"

Two big amounts of energy blasted towards Erza. Erza couldn't dodge it, she was still shocked from Simon's revelation and couldn't move. The two attacks headed straight for Erza, and exploded.

Simon turned around to walk away. When suddenly-

"The fight's not over yet."

Simon turned around quickly. Jellal was standing there, blocking both attacks and protecting Erza. Simon smiled.

"Good timing. I'm surprised you can still stand, after getting that much damage inflicted on you. Tell me, what is driving you this much?"

"Erza" said Jellal while looking at her. Erza blushed a little, but kept her composure.

"She gave me life again, and I want to give life to her"

Simon didn't say anything. But his aura started to magnify, sending a twinger of fear down Jellal and Erza.

"You two…." Simon said with an angry voice. His voice started to change; it was becoming less and less him.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU BOTH!" Simon screamed, his aura spreading around everywhere.

"Erza" said Jellal.

"Don't, Jellal" said Erza. "I can still fight"

She stood up, and changed into her strongest armor.

"Equip: Nakagami armor!"

"But…"

Erza looked at Jellal. Her glare scared Jellal inside.

"Ok" said Jellal sheepishly. Looking at Simon, he said, "Let's stop him"

"And save him." said Erza.

And with that, they both charged towards Simon.


	15. Chapter 15 - Forgiven

Chapter 15: Forgiven

"Save me?!", shouted Simon, his voice now unrecognizable. "You'll save me when you're both DEAD!"

"Darkness Wave!"

Simon swang his arms, and rays of darkness headed towards Erza and Jellal. They both managed to block the attacks, and went into make their moves.

"Heaven magic: Meteor!"

"Nakagami: Heavn's sword!"

Both attacks hit Simon full on. Simon grunted, but was thrown backwards. He looked up to attack, but the duo were too quick for him.

"Heaven magic: Grand Charlot!"

"Nakagami: Heaven's Spear!"

Both of their attacks hit Simon again, this time Simon screamed in pain. He backed off from the two, holding his wounds and glaring at them.

"You two", said Simon. "How dare you attack me with light!"

Erza and Jellal stared at Simon. The darkness that was surrounding him was starting to crack at parts.

"This is-"

"He cannot sustain the darkness with our attacks! But why?"

Jellal looked at Erza's armor, and then his hands. He then realized.

"Light against Darkness" pointing at the darkness, he continued, "Our magic is the complete opposite against his. If we continue…"

"… We can save him" Erza nodded. "We'll go full blast against… him" coughing a little, she kneeled down. She was coughing blood again.

"Erza!" Jellal kneeled down to hold her. "Your arm-"

"I'll be ok", said Erza, keeping her composure and standing up. But she was not; she knew one last attack and she will collapse.

"We have to do this" Her look made Jellal make up his mind.

"Ok"

Simon was ready to attack again. "Too much talking" he said, putting his arms together, he screamed his biggest attack.

"Death Darkness Cannon!"

Erza and Jellal were ready. They unrealsed their strongest attack against Simon.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!"

"Nakagami: Starlight!"

Both attacks flew towards Simon's final attack. They clashed in the middle, and were pushing on another.

"Hahaha!" laughed Simon. "Equal? How about this!?"

He flung his left arm, more darkness flew towards the two.

Jellal smiled. "You underestimate me"

"Heaven Body Magic: Altalris!"

Jellal's final two attacks combined with Erza's attack, and caused a great bright light. Simon's darkness was cracking, and Simon was starting to cringe from the light.

"No! Noooooo!"

"Unison Laid: Altalris Starlight!"

The combined attack defeated Simon's attack. The darkness cracked into pieces, and the attack hit Simon in full force.

Simon screamed painfully, and the attack exploded. When the dust subdued, Simon was on his knees, the darkness around him destroyed.

"Did… we do it?" wheezed Erza.

"We did" answered Jellal.

"Thank… god" said Erza, her Nakagami armor disappearing, and she collapsed.

"Erza!" shouted Jellal while holding her. Then he realized something. From her left shoulder, something dark was spreading through her body, causing her pain. Erza started to scream.

"What is happening?!"

"It's the darkness", said someone. Jellal looked up, and it was Simon.

Jellal glared at Simon, one of his hands ready to attack if needed. "What do you mean?"

"When I stabbed her, some of the darkness that's brought me back to life went into her. It's destroying her from the inside. She'll lose all sense of herself in a few minutes"

"No…. ERZA!" Jellal looked back at her. The darkness was already covering her left arm, and was spreading fast. He didn't know what to do; he had no knowledge in treating something like this.

Simon kneeled down, and reached his arm out.

"What are you doing?!"

"QUIET!" shouted Simon. "Just look and watch"

As he said that, the darkness in Erza started to leave her, and go into Simon. Jellal just stared. And he realized, Simon's hand started to crack.

"What's happening to you?!"

"I can't sustain the darkness anymore", said Simon. "Your attacks rid me of the darkness that was in me, but I don't have enough power to control it. It's going to eat me alive and I'm going to disappear again"

Jellal stared at him again. Simon's voice was back to normal, and it was the same voice as Jellal remembered as.

"Simon… is it really you?"

"Of course it is" snapped Simon. "Who else do you think it is?" Chuckling, Simon stared at Jellal. "Are your injuries ok?"

"I'll live" huffed Jellal. He stared at his one time friend, the cracks from his hand spreading through his arm. "What happened?"

"After you killed me, my soul was going to pass on. But Master Pendragon found me, he used his darkness magic to bring me back to life. He told me, "you have another chance at life, take it". He was a different person back then. He was more compassionate, more human, he cared about his guild"

"What changed him?"

"He couldn't control the darkness anymore. It took over him. He became more menacing, more controlling, more evil. His magic inside me grew stronger, and it took over my dark side, I couldn't do anything about it"

Jellal stared at Simon. A tear came down from Jellal's left eye, which surprised Simon.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry…. I'm sorry what I did to you. To Sho, to Wally, to Milliana. And of course to Erza"

Looking at Simon, now tears flowing down his face, Jellal confessed, "I was consumed by Zeref's darkness. I felt powerful back then. I felt I could do anything. I felt I can control anyone with my will" Looking down at Erza, he said, "I lost everything"

"You haven't" said Simon. "You still have her"

Jellal looked back at Simon. He was smiling at him. The cracks were reaching his face, spreading vastly.

"From this battle, I felt how much she means to you. And how much you mean to her"

Looking at Erza, smiling sadly, Simon continued, "I'm glad she finally found happiness in her life. And I'm glad it was you" Simon chuckled slightly, "At least I let all of what I felt out during that fight"

Jellal stared at his one-time friend. That was when Erza started to regain consciousness.

"Erza!" shouted Jellal.

"Jellal…" touching his face with her right hand, she said, "I'm here"

Jellal smiled from the bottom of his heart, which made Erza smile back at him.

Simon was looking at the two, his heart finally at peace. "I'm glad Erza"

"Simon" Erza quickly looked at her friend. "I'm… I'm…"

"It's ok" Simon reassured her. "No one can control a heart, how it should feel, who it will fall for"

The cracks that were spreading on Simon were now completely around his body. His arms started to collapse, the parts that were falling off turning into sand and air when it touched the ground.

"Simon!" shouted Erza, tears starting to form on her eyes.

"You shouldn't waste tears on me, Erza" said Simon. Looking at Jellal, he said, "Take care of her for me, will you?"

Jellal nodded, tears flowing down.

"Tsh. Since when did you two turn into cry babies?" Simon said sarcastically, then smiling at them.

Looking up, Simon started to speak, his one last speech before he disappeared again. "I'm happy I was able to talk to you two again. I hope Sho, Wally and Milliana are doing ok"

Looking slightly crestfallen, Simon said, "I wish I knew where my sister was. I hope she's ok"

Erza looked up and stared at Simon. His sister…

"Simon!" shouted Erza, tears flowing down her face now, "You sister is ok! Kagura is alive!"

Simon stared at her with a shocked face. "You met her?"

"Yes! She fought against me! She's a really strong mage now, she almost beat me! She's in the same guild as Milliana!"

"She… she…" Erza struggled for words. "She misses you, Simon. She remembers you every day"

Simon looked at Erza. His shocked face turned into a smile for a bit, then he started to cry.

"I'm… I'm glad she's alive", he sobbed. "I'm so glad she's doing well"

Erza was crying, and Jellal was sobbing, knowing that Simon cannot meet his sister ever again. Because of him…

"Don't think like that, Jellal", Simon said. Jellal looked at him in a shocked face. "I know what you were thinking"

"What's happened happened. You can't change the past, and you'll be a fool to try"

"Just tell her, tell Kagura… I'll always be there for her. I'll always protect her"

Sobbing, Erza and Jellal nodded.

Simon walked towards Erza, his body disappearing bit by bit. He reached his right hand out towards her, something in his hand. Erza reached out for his hand, and he dropped something in her hands, his hand and arm disappearing with the motion.

Erza looked into her hands. It was a necklace.

"Give it to her, will you?" asked Simon. "Give it to Kagura for me"

Sobbing, she nodded.

"Thank you, Erza" said Simon, tears rolling down his eyes.

Looking at her, and at Jellal, he made one final statement, "I had a happy life knowing you two"

And with a smile, Simon disappeared, his body turned into sand and air.


	16. Chapter 16 - Vincent and the Lady

Chapter 16: Vincent and the Lady

Erza was sobbing. She has not cried this much since she lost Jellal the second time, when he was taken away by the Magic Council.

Jellal walked over to Erza, putting his arm around her for comfort. Erza flew into his chest, sobbing onto him.

Jellal flinched a bit, due to his injury on his chest, but he hugged Erza to comfort her.

"Simon's in a better place now" said Jellal, tears flowing down his face too.

Erza nodded on his shoulder. Getting out of Jellal's embrace, she wiped her tears, and looked further ahead of the corridor.

"They will pay for what they did to Simon" Erza said. Her eyes looked murderous, and Jellal was scared of her.

_So this was what Vincent was talking about when he said she had a reputation. Now I get it, she's scary…_

"Come on, Jellal. We'll show them they picked on the wrong guild to go to war with"

"Yes, Erza", Jellal said. He wanted to say to Erza to rest first for her shoulder, but he was able to tell she was in no mood to listen. So he listened to her and they went off to find the others.

_Ok, rule number one. After all this is finished, never get her angry. I don't think I'll survive if I get her angry towards me._

**- Meanwhile, further into the dungeon -**

Natsu, Mirajane and Vincent were running through the dungeon towards the Eclipse. They knew they were getting closer, the magic flow was getting stronger around them, and the magic within them was starting to be affected.

"Can you feel that?" said Mirajane with a worried tone.

Both Natsu and Vincent nodded. "It's Eclipse, the closer we get, the stronger it's pulling the magic out of us. You experienced that before right?" said Vincent, looking at Natsu's way.

Natsu nodded, but grumbling at the same time.

He remembered that he tried to attack before in front of Eclipse, and it sucked all of his magic at that time, weakening him. It wasn't a good memory for him.

Natsu suddenly stopped. He picked up a scent he was familiar.

"What is it, Natsu?" asked Mirajane.

Natsu didn't answer. This scent was…

"Its-"

"Lucy" Vincent answered for him. "She's up ahead, isn't she?"

Natsu looked at Vincent in a shocked face. "How'd you—

"I can tell" Looking up, Vincent continued, "I can feel the Lost Spell on her"

"Dark Mind? How?" asked Natsu.

"Dark Mind is an ancient spell, but its still born from darkness. I'm the Dark Dragon Slayer, remember?"

"But then, if you can control the darkness, can't you lift it?"

Vincent looked at Natsu with a sad expression. "No"

That word pierced through Natsu like a cold dagger.

"I'm powerful, but there's no way to lift that sort of curse off people. Once it holds you, it'll never let go. I tried lifting it before, it didn't work"

Both Natsu and Mirajane looked at him. This was the first time they heard of this.

"Who were you trying to help?" asked Mirajane.

"It was—

"It was me"

A voice said behind Vincent. The three looked up ahead, and a hooded figure came out of the shadows.

"One of these guys again!?" shouted Natsu.

"I'm the last of the 4 Masters of Darkness. The other three have been defeated by your comrades"

Looking at the three, the hooded figure stated, "your run ends here, faires"

Vincent looked at the hooded figure with a shocked face. Mirajane was worried; until now Vincent never showed that kind of expression in front of anyone.

Finally, Vincent spoke, "So you were still alive"

The hooded figure chuckled. "What, you thought I was dead?"

Looking at the hooded figure, Vincent continued, "When I saw the other hooded figures, their cloaks, I knew they were the 4 Masters of Darkness. But other than Ivan, the other two were different"

"Did you kill the original members?"

The hooded figure stared at Vincent, then laughed hysterically. "You still care about those guys?!"

"They were your friends"

"They were weak", said the figure coldly. And the next statement made Natsu and Mirajane freeze.

"They were your friends too, Vince"

There was a moment of silence. Mirajane finally spoke up, "what?"

"Oh, he didn't explain to you?" the hooded figure laughed.

"The guy in front of you, is the ex – lieutenant of Devil's Eye, and was supposed to be the next master of our guild. Vincent Roses"

"Or rather, should I say, Vincent _Pendragon_"


	17. Chapter 17 - Vincent and Mirajane

Chapter 17: Vincent and Mirajane

Vincent stared at the hooded figure, his face expression not changing. Then, he cracked a smile, chuckling to himself, "Same as ever, aren't you, Rena?"

The hooded figure, Rena, sniggered sarcastically.

Natsu and Mirajane stared at Vincent.

"You… you're part of them?" said Mirajane in a horrified voice.

"Was" said Vincent. "Salamander, you asked me before why I'm helping your guild to stop this. Now you know" looking at Natsu, Vincent continued, "I want to stop this guild from destroying the world. I want to stop father from committing this atrocity"

"The master is your dad!?" Natsu cried out.

"He's not my real father. I'm not blood related to him in any way. I was raised by Acnologia. When Acnologia disappeared, I was found by Pendragon. He cared for me, raised me like his son. But he changed"

"He was betrayed by you" Rena said with a harsh tone.

"No" looking back at Rena, Vincent answered, "he betrayed himself" he said with a harsh tone, but Mirajane picked up he was lying. Like he was hiding something.

"you" Rena raised her arms, ready for battle. "You will pay for that insult against Master"

"Salamander, Mirajane, go ahead without me. Lucy will be there with Eclipse"

Staring at Natsu, Vincent continued, "I said Dark Mind cannot be lifted, but there's still a chance. If the curse hasn't taken her heart completely yet, she can still return to you"

"Do it, Salamander. Do not lose your loved ones like I did"

Natsu didn't say anything towards Vincent. He just kept staring at him.

"Disappointed that I used to be one of them?" Vincent said with a bitter tone.

"They were my family, until darkness took over" Vincent said with a sad expression. "I have to finish this"

"I don't care if you were with them or not" Natsu replied. Vincent looked back at him. "You helped our guild, you helped my friends. As far as I can see, you're one of us now. My friend" Natsu finished with a smile.

Vincent looked at him blankly. Then he laughed, "I've never met anyone quite like you"

Standing in front of the two, Vincent continued, "Get going, _Natsu_. If anyone can lift Dark Mind of Lucy, it's you. Your love towards her will lead her heart into the light"

Natsu blushed a little when Vincent said "his love for Lucy".

"I—

"Oh stop being so naïve" said Vincent sarcastically. "You know how you feel towards her"

"Dark claw!"

Rena's attack suddenly came from nowhere. It hit Vincent in the face, and Natsu screamed.

"Vincent!"

Vincent stood there for a second. He wiped his face, making sure it wasn't bleeding. He was not damaged at all.

"I'm ok, Natsu"

Vincent sighed, and he glared at Rena.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. "That was a grave mistake you did there, Rena" Vincent said. His glare made Rena felt fear go down her spine. She knew she woke up the dark dragon.

The next thing Rena realized, he was standing in front of her.

"Dark Dragon's Claw!"

Vincent's attack slashed Rena. She screamed in pain, but Vincent took no notice. He attacked again.

"Dark Dragon's Roar!"

Vincent's roar hit Rena at full force. She crashed into the wall, causing a massive explosion.

Natsu was just standing there, staring at Vincent. _Woh, his power… when he said he was powerful, he wasn't lying. He is strong_

"Natsu, what are you still doing here? Go!" shouted Vincent. "I'll handle here"

Natsu hesitated, but listened to Vincent in the end.

"Thanks!" thanking Vincent, Natsu went ahead.

There was only Vincent and Mirajane standing in the room.

"Mira, what are you doing? Go with Natsu!"

Mirajane didn't move. She was staring at Vincent. Then she finally spoke, "Is that the reason why you said you won't join a guild again? Because you couldn't stop them"

Vincent stared at her. "Yes" he said to her sadly.

"I tried to stop them before, I couldn't. I failed them, and I failed myself. How can I join another guild if I caused this?"

"You caused?"

"When we formed the guild years ago, they wanted to learn the dark magic I was using. They said they can trust me, so I taught them. But I didn't realize it will end like this. The darkness took over their hearts. This is my fault"

Vincent looked like he was keeping his emotions at bay. Mirajane could tell this has been haunting him for a long time.

"This isn't your fault" said Mirajane. Vincent stared at her, giving her a "What?" kind of look. Mirajane continued.

"I can see this has been killing you a lot. But this wasn't your fault. You didn't know this would have happened"

Mirajane looked like she was about to cry. Vincent was shocked, "Why are you about to cry?"

"Because I can feel your pain" she was keeping herself from not crying. "And you're not showing your emotions!"

Vincent was dumbstruck. No one had ever done that for him before. Even when he was at Devil's Eye, he kept his emotions in check, showing no sign of weakness. But there was one girl, stood in front of him, crying for him. He couldn't believe it.

"I…. I'm sorry" said Vincent sadly.

SLAP!

Vincent didn't realize how fast Mirajane could move. And with one move, she slapped him in the face.

"What was that for?!" shouted Vincent.

"Because you're being an idiot!" Mirajane shouted back.

Vincent looked at her, holding his cheek where she slapped him. He was shocked again; nobody has slapped him like that.

Vincent just chuckled.

"What are you chuckling for?" aksed Mirajane with a sharp tone.

"Sorry" said Vincent. He went in to hug her. Mirajane didn't expect that, but she hugged back. Vincent never felt this comfortable in his life. He knew he felt something when he was talking to Mirajane in the Guild Hall, but he didn't realise it was this strong. And, judging that Mira didn't let him go, he knew she felt the same.

"Thank you, Mira"

"You are an idiot"

"I know"

They looked into each other. The only thing Vincent wanted to do was to kiss her. And from her face expression, she wanted to do the same too.

Their faces were getting closer and closer, when suddenly-

"Dark Cannon!"

An attack came from nowhere. Vincent and Mirajane dodged the attack straight away, and looked at where the attack came from.

Rena was standing there, glaring at the two. There were two other guys standing behind her. They were—

"Hardener. Bane" Vincent said.

The two didn't say anything. They looked at the two, and they were ready to attack.

"Mira, battle position"

"You're not going to tell me to 'Run, I can handle this'?"

"I wish I can say that. But I know you can handle a fight, you're the 'She-Devil Mirajane'" Vincent smirked. "And I can't handle all of them by myself"

Looking at Mirajane, he continued.

"Please help me"

"Ok" said Mirajane with a smile. Their eyes both said they can continue later.

"Take over: Satan Soul!"

"Dark Dragon Technique: Dark Drive!"

Mirajane changed into her demon form, and Vincent used his form where he can use the darkness more.

"Let's do this"

"Yes"

With that, the duo went into battle.


	18. Chapter 18 - Vincent's True Form

Chapter 18: Vincent's True Form

"Dark Dragon's Sword!"

Vincent's attack, which was a dark sword like attack, went towards the Devil's Eye trio. Bane stepped in front of the two, and the attack hit him at full blast.

However, Bane was not hurt at all. The next thing Vincent and Mirajane saw was Bane eating the attack. Vincent looked at Bane with a shocked face.

"Since when did you learn that?! You didn't have that kind of ability"

"I do know" Bane sniggered. "And this too"

He raised his arms, and screamed

"Dark Dragon's Sword!"

Bane's attack went towards Vincent and Mirajane. They both dodged the attack.

"He copied your attack?!" said Mirajane.

"That's new too. He never had this when I was with them" Looking up at Bane, Vincent noticed something. Bane's arms were heavily bandaged.

_Why is he that bandaged up? Wait, it can't be…_

"Bane!" shouted Vincent. "You're failing to control the darkness aren't you?"

"What?" asked Mirajane.

Pointing at Bane's arms, Vincent continued, "His arms, they're heavily bandaged. The darkness in him is eating him alive, his body can't control it and it's falling apart"

Looking at Hardener and Rena, Vincent shouted at them, "How could you let him go that far?!"

Rena only sniggered at Vincent, which caused Vincent to feel anger.

"We use what resources we have" said Rena. "Besides, if he can't sustain it, we can kill him ourselves and use his magic and darkness to charge the Eclipse"

That was the last straw for Vincent. Mirajane felt something snapped in him; the next thing she saw Vincent was in front of them and blasted them with his dark power.

"Dark Dragon's Spearhead!"

"Dark Dragon's Blast!"

"Dark Dragon's Roar!"

Both Rena and Hardener were getting hit by Vincent's attacks, and finally Vincent showed one of his final magic techniques.

"Dragon Slayer Technique: Dark God Claw!"

There was a massive explosion, and darkness doomed the surroundings. Mirajane, who used her power to produce a shield for the attack, was shocked as how Vincent kept on attacking the two. _I can't believe he would just do that. He really is the Dark Dragon Slayer…_

The darkness subdued, and Vincent was standing there. The darkness was roaming around him, and he looked more scary than ever. Mirajane felt a twinge of fear run through her.

_Is he actually Vincent? His aura, his presence… it feels more like-_

"More like a dragon?" asked Vincent. Mirajane looked at him.

"Sorry"

"It's ok. But…"

"Do you think that attack will stop us?" said a voice behind Vincent.

Vincent looked back, and Rena and Hardener were standing there, bruised and cut but otherwise still there. Between them, Bane was standing there, all beaten up, coughing up blood.

"You used him as a shield?!" cried Mirajane.

"He was going to die anyway, he might as well be of use" smirked Hardener. He pushed Bane towards Vincent, and shouted an attack.

"Black Meteor!"

Hundreds of meteor like balls went through Bane, and attacked Vincent. Tens of them hit him and Vincent let out a yelp of pain.

"GAH"

"Vincent!" Shouted Mirajane. She gathered her magic, and attacked Hardener.

"Soul Extinction!"

Mirajane's attack cut through Hardener's and hit Hardener in the chest. Hardener screamed in pain and crashed into the wall behind him. Mirajane followed and started a fist fight with him.

"Don't ignore me!"

And with that shout, Rena joined in. Mirajane felt 2 vs 1 was unfair, but she was keeping it up against them.

Meanwhile, Vincent was tending to Bane. Bane was covered in blood, and with one look, Vincent knew he didn't have long to live.

"Bane…"

"Don't" said Bane, coughing up blood at the same time. "You decided your path, I decided mine"

Vincent nodded. Bane felt something drop onto his face. He looked up, and he saw Vincent shed a tear.

"Hah" said Bane. "Who knew… that you're a c… ry baby?"

"Shut the fuck up" Vincent said.

Bane looked at him. "Listen" he continued. "Stop… al..l of this. You can do it… commander" he said with a smirk.

Vincent looked at him. "I haven't heard that name for a while"

"Course" smirked Bane. "Who else… would ca-"

Stab.

Out of the blue, Hardener was standing in front of the two, stabbing Bane in the heart. Bane couldn't scream; he was in a state of shock. He looked back at Vincent one last time, and never responded ever again.

Vincent felt his one time friend's soul leave his body. He looked up, and saw Hardener's face. He was smiling.

"Such a weakling" said Hardener. "This is why he couldn't control the darkness"

Vincent didn't say anything. He looked down onto the floor. Suddenly, the ground started shaking. The air started to bend towards Vincent, and the darkness that was surrounding Hardener was getting pulled towards Vincent.

"What is this?" said Hardener. "Some sort of new trick you learned?"

Vincent looked up at Hardener. His eyes changed colour; it was black in the middle and orange, rather than the slight green eye colour he had. Hardener felt fear looking into it. He jumped back a few steps and looked on.

Mirajane and Rena were still fist fighting, but stopped once they felt the earth move. They both looked at Vincent, and saw the darkness spinning around him.

Vincent slowly stood up, and looked at Hardener. His face looked murderous.

"I will…" Vincent spoke. Mirajane was scared; Vincent's voice changed. It was more deeper, more dark, and more… _evil_.

"I will exterminate you. All of you"

And with that statement, Vincent screamed. The scream lasted for a couple of minutes, but half way through, his scream turned into a roar. _A Dragon's roar._

When he stopped roaring, the darkness cleared to the point it was still spinning around Vincent, but was acting as his aura. Mirajane looked upon him, and was shocked at what she saw.

His arms turned into scales. His hands were more like claws. Black wings emerged from his back, and his face changed to more of a black dragon.

_His face… looks like Aconologia!_ Mirajane thought.

"This is my true form", said Vincent, his voice now unrecognizable.

Hardener looked at Vincent in horror and fear. He never saw this coming.

"Wh... what?!"

"Black Dragon form"

"And now, you will be exterminated"

He went towards Hardener, intending to exterminate him. No, to _kill him_.

**- Further up ahead Devil's Eye's dungeon -**

Natsu was running faster than ever. He can smell he was getting closer to Lucy.

Suddenly, he felt the ground shake violently, and he stopped running.

"What the hell was that?!"

He looked back towards where he ran from. Then he felt it. _This power… is it Vincent?_

Then he heard the scream. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

_That's Vincent… is he turning into a dragon!?_

**- Outside Devil's Eye's layer, far away in the distance -**

The surrounding environment in the mountains was peaceful. All the animals around were roaming freely. Suddenly, the ground shook violently. The animals were wondering what was making the ground shake.

Something leaped out from the shadows. It looked up into the sky, it's expression emotionless. The animals couldn't see at first, but then realized what it was, and ran away as fast as they can.

It was Acnologia. The Dragon King.

"What was that?" exclaimed Acnologia. "That dark power… I've felt it before"

Acnologia then heard the roar. Since it was far away, it shouldn't have been heard where he was. But he heard it. and he instantly recognized it.

"That voice… it can't be…"

Acnologia spread his wings out, and flew off from the ground into the air. He started heading towards where the roar came from.

He was heading towards Devil's Eye's layer. He heard Vincent's roar.


	19. Chapter 19 - Avenger

Chapter 19: Avenger

Vincent charged into Hardener at full speed. Hardener tried to get away from him, but Vincent was too fast.

"Black Dragon's Sword Horn!"

Vincent headbutted Hardener in the abdomen; Hardener cried out loud and spat out fluids. He was in the air when Vincent attacked again.

"Black Dragon's Firing Hammer!"

The Darkness hit Hardener in the face, and he flew into the wall, causing a massive explosion. When the smokes and dust subdued, Hardener was standing there, his body broken. His eyes were white, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Vincent looked towards Rena and Mirajane. The look on his face made Mira fear him.

_Is this really Vincent?_ Mirajane looked horrified.

"You're the only one left", said Vincent with a smirk, his voice now different from what it was.

Rena stepped back. She was terrified of Vincent. She's never seen Vincent like this before, even when he was part of the guild.

_I'm going to get killed!_

"Um… Vincent… I didn't really mean to…"

Vincent didn't say anything. He stepped towards Rena, his expression unchanged. Rena panicked and kept attacking.

"Dark Cannon!"

No matter how many times she attacked, it didn't hit Vincent at all. He kept dodging it, while at the same time getting closer to her. Five attacks later, Vincent was standing in front of Rena.

Rena was terrified. She still kept her composure and tried to attack him, screaming at the same time.

"HAAAAAAAA"

Vincent just stared at her, and gave her a big glare. Darkness gushed around him, making him look more terrifying. Rena stopped attacking him, and just stared at him. She couldn't move from the fear. From her eyes, he looked more like a dragon.

_No…. he looks more like a…. demon_.

Rena slumped down onto her knees, tears streaming down her face. She was terrified that she was going to die there and now.

"You… you can't kill me" she sobbed. "You don't do that"

Vincent raised his fist towards her.

"I do now"

With that, he went in to attack her.

Suddenly, he felt a presence between him and Rena. He stopped his fist just in time before it attacked the presence. When he focused and looked up, it was Mirajane, stepping in between the two. Her take over was undone, but she still stepped in to block the attack.

"What is the meaning of this?" Vincent asked.

Mirajane was terrified as much as Rena was, but kept her composure and kept her stand.

"There's no need to kill her. She's lost the will to fight. You don't need to attack her anymore"

Vincent just stared at her, his expression impossible to read.

"I…. I…." said Rena from behind Mirajane.

"What do you want to say?" asked Vincent. Mirajane felt that his voice was turning back to normal.

"I yield", said Rena, her voice breaking. She was sobbing onto the floor. "I can't… fight anymore. I'm scared"

"Good" said Vincent with a huff. He closed his eyes and looked above. The darkness that was around him covered him, and when the darkness subdued, he was back to normal.

"It's a good thing she stopped me", Vincent said, pointing at Mirajane. "Otherwise, you'd have been dead"

"How… how did you get that-"

"This power?" Vincent looked into his hands. "When I failed to stop you and everyone one year ago, I had to train myself to get this power. I looked into the darkness"

"You… looked into the…"

"Yes" Vincent continued. "When I taught you, I said do not jump into the darkness, as it will consume you eventually. I ignored that, and I jumped in. The darkness consumed me. But that was when I realized"

"Realized what?"

"Realized that there's light in the darkness" Rena looked at him in shock. "Where there's light, there's darkness. But darkness cannot survive without light. I saw that in the depths of darkness, and composed myself. I was able to get out of it after that. When I did, I had this power"

"What… was the light that kept you from falling?"

Vincent looked at Rena. "You guys"

Rena looked shocked.

"No matter what was said a year ago, now, even before, it doesn't matter. You all were my family. How can I forget that?" Vincent finished with a smile.

Rena stared at him, tears flowing down her eyes. Then something happened; the dark rims that were surrounding her eyes disappeared. Vincent looked at her, his expression with that of shock.

"The Dark Mind…. It's gone"

"The ancient spell? But how?", asked Mirajane.

"I don't know" Vincent looked at Rena once again. "Rena?"

Rena looked at Vincent again. And she then said, "brother Vince?"

Vincent's face turned from shock to a wide smile, with a hint of tears in his eyes.

"Vince!" Rena cried and tried to rush to Vincent.

STAB.

Suddenly, a sword stabbed through Rena from behind. It went through her stomach. Rena looked shocked, then coughed up blood.

"RENA!" Vincent screamed.

Vincent looked up, and saw Hardener. He was heavily injured, but was still able to attack.

"I knew I should've killed you before" Hardener said coldly. He pulled the sword out of Rena's body, and pushed her towards Vincent and Mirajane.

Rena fell into Vincent's arms, coughing blood from her mouth and her wound.

"NO! RENA!" shouted Vincent.

"Bro..ther…" said Rena.

Mirajane got hold of Rena, and started to cover her wound to stop the flow of blood.

Vincent looked down, and glared at Hardener in a murderous glaze.

"I will kill you", said Vincent. Charging towards Hardener, he screamed an attack.

"Dark Dragon's Iron Fist!"

It hit Hardener in the chest. Hardener grunted but he grabbed Vincent's face. He smirked.

"Now you will know how Juvia felt when she was hit by this"

"Ultimate Pain!"

Light formed around Vincent. He started to scream in pain. When Hardener let go, Vincent was heavily injured.

"This attack opens up all past wounds you were inflicted in your life" smirked Hardener. "Including the ones we gave you one year ago"

Vincent collapsed onto the floor, blood oozing from his wounds. Mirajane screamed in fear.

"VINCENT!"

Mirajane got into battle position and screamed.

"Take Over: Satan Soul Halphas!"

Mirajane, in her Halphas form, started to attack Hardener. Hardener was blocking her attacks, but was grunting in pain as he blocked.

_I can't keep this up for long, I need to do something._

Hardener backed off, and attacked Mirajane.

"Air Easter!"

Mirajane was sucked into a ball of darkness. She tried to get out, but she couldn't penetrate the walls. Suddenly, she started to wheeze. The air around were was disappearing.

"Hahaha!" laughed Hardener. "Not so strong without precious air, huh?"

Mirajane was struggling to keep herself conscious. She couldn't breath.

_No… if this continues…. _She felt herself going out of consciousness. _Someone help me…._

Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere, grabbing Mirajane. The hand pulled her out of the sphere, into the being's chest.

It was Vincent.

"V..Vincent…" coughed Mirajane.

"You ok Mira?" said Vincent. He was in a terrible state; all his past wounds have opened up, and Mirajance could tell he was in a lot of pain.

Mirajane looked down, and saw he had a big hole on the left side of his stomach.

"Vincent, your wound!" screamed Vincent.

"I know" said Vincent through grinding teeth. "That was from one year ago, from him" looking up at Hardener. "He thought he killed me back then. He was wrong to assume that"

"Well, I can kill you now, so what's the difference?" smirked Hardener.

"The difference is you're not going to kill me", said Vincent. "I'm going to kill you". His eyes went towards Rena, who was lying on the floor, barely conscious but still alive. She was looking at the three.

Vincent looked back at Hardener, standing up. While he was standing, blood was still dripping from all the wounds he had. Vincent winced a little from the pain, but managed to stand up.

"Black Dragon Mode"

With that statement, Vincent changed back into the Black Dragon mode he was earlier. Mirajane stared on.

"Vincent! You can't use that magic in your current state! You will-"

"I know", said Vincent. "But this is the only way to stop him. And to avenge all that he killed"

Looking back at Mirajane, he smiled. Mirajane looked at him, tears roaming down her face.

He looked back at Hardener, and charged. Hardener charged into Vincent, both ready to move in for the kill.


	20. Chapter 20 - My Big Brother

Chapter 20: My big brother

Both mages knew this will be there final attack. All for one. One for all. They shouted out their final moves.

"Final Execution!"

"Dragon Slayer Technigue: Dragon God Blazing Spear!"

Hardener's attack penetrated through Vincent's left shoulder. Vincent's attack, however, penetrated through Hardener's abdomen, causing Hardener to cough up blood. A massive explosion engulfed the two, causing Mirajane to look away from the brightness.

_That explosion… I hope Vincent is…_

The dust subdued, and when Mirajane looked up, the two were still locking horns. Vincent was losing dangerous amounts of blood, but he was still standing, keeping his Black Dragon Mode intact. Hardener, on the other hand, did not move an inch.

He was dead.

Vincent pulled out his arm from Hardener's abdomen, and pushed him onto the floor. With a thud, Hardener fell, never to rise again.

Vincent held onto his wound on his stomach, and turned around to look at Mirajane. He smiled, and collapsed, his Black Dragon Mode unlocking with it.

"VINCENT!" screamed Mirajane, rushing to his aid.

"How… was that?" Vincent wheezed.

"You… you idiot!" shouted Mirajane. "Your wounds…"

"I know…." Vincent looked at his wounds. "They're too deep, aren't they?"

Vincent coughed up blood from pain. Mirajane was panicking inside, _How can I save him?! His wounds… they're too deep… no, I don't want to lose him!"_

Mirajane was crying. She didn't know what to do.

Vincent, looking at Mirajane, put his hand onto her face. "Don't worry" said Vincent. "This is how… it was meant to end" he finished with a smile.

"It's not meant to end like this", someone said from behind.

Mirajane looked back, and it was Rena. She was still bleeding from her wound inflicted by Hardener, but she was able to stand up. She started walking towards the two.

When she arrived where Vincent was lying down, she put her hand on his wounds. Darkness started to surround it.

"What… what are you doing?" asked Mirajane.

"I'm trying to save his life" Rena answered. Mirajane looked at her. "If I use this special spell, I will be able to heal his wounds"

"Rena… no…." said Vincent through his teeth. His wounds were causing him massive amounts of pain. "You… can't use that…"

"I will", said Rena in a determined voice. "And you can't stop me"

"But… if you do… you'll die"

"I know"

Mirajane looked at Rena. "You'll die?"

"This spell is to heal their wounds with darkness" Rena explained. "It uses massive amounts of magic. Using this spell even in a normal state deplates your magic a whole day. In my state, I won't last"

"But then-"

"It doesn't matter" Rena assured Mirajane. "Besides, I don't have long now"

She showed her hand, and it was starting to crack in places. Mirajane covered her mouth in horror, while Vincent looked at Rena in a shocked expression.

"Rena… you can't"

"Yes I can", snapped Rena. "It's my life, and I only have a few moments left. I can use it how I like to"

With that, she started to heal Vincent.

Vincent's wounds were healing. The small wounds have already healed, but the wound he sustained on his left side of the stomach and his left shoulder were healing slowly. Rena was doing her best to keep the healing process; her cracks on her hand were already spreading rapidly. One part of the crack was reaching her face.

"Rena, no more. If you continue, you'll die!" shouted Vincent.

"I said, BE QUIET!" shouted Rena. The cracks were steadily creeping into her face.

"But…" Vincent tried to stand up, but his wounds were still too deep for him to move around freely.

"See? Told ya. I'm surprised you survived this long without me"

"Thanks" grumbled Vincent.

Rena laughed, but turned into a serious tone, "You're the only one who can stop this, Vince. Stop this for us. For everyone who was in this guild"

Vincent looked at her, and nodded.

Mirajane was listening to the conversation, not saying anything. She knew Rena was someone Vincent held dear; she can feel it from the conversation and the atmosphere when they were talking. She was afraid to ask.

"Um… were you two… you know…" asked Mirajane shyly.

Both Vincent and Rena looked at her. Rena started laughing.

"Really?! Did you think I'd be with this idiot?!"

"Oi, shut up!"

"But you can't deny you are a reckless idiot, big brother" smirked Rena, which caused Vincent to grumble. She looked back at Mirajane again, "he's like the older brother I never had. He protected me for years when we formed this guild. I never had feelings like that for him"

"And" looking at Mirajane's face, "judging by how you asked that question and reacted, you have feelings for my older brother, aye?" Rena said with a snigger.

Both Mirajane and Vincent's face went scarlet red. Rena laughed. "The look on you two's faces!"

Rena looked at Mirajane with a serious but sad expression. "He suffered a lot in his time with us. Can you help him for me please? Can you be there for him and be the one he wants to be with?"

Mirajane was knocked back by what Rena said, but kept her composure. She nodded, her face a slight shade of pink.

"Good" said Rena. And then she smiled. "Thank you"

She looked down at Vincent's wounds again. "They're healed now"

Vincent looked at his shoulder and stomach. The wounds were gone; the only things that remained was the scars from it. Vincent looked back at Rena to say thank you. "Thanks Re—"

Rena tiled forwards. The cracks cover her whole body.

"RENA!"

Vincent managed to grab hold of her. Her body was dispensing into the air.

"No… Rena… don't…." Vincent was panicking.

"It's ok", said Rena. "This… was meant to…. happen"

Vincent felt his eyes water up. He knew he was about to cry, but he didn't care. He let his tears flow down his face, showing his emotion for the first time in front of Rena. Rena was shocked to see it.

"haha" Rena laughed. "Who knew you had… that kind of emotion in you?"

"Shut the fuck up", said Vincent, wiping his tears away. "If I had enough power last time…"

"Don't" said Rena. Putting her hand onto his face, she continued, "Everything happens for a reason. You're… a better person now. You aren't the person you were when you joined us, when you were one year ago. You changed for the better"

"And you found a new family" looking at Mirajane, Rena continued, "this one is full of light. You'll be ok, Vince"

Looking back at Vincent, Rena made one final comment, "live for me, big brother. Live your life for the others that fell today. Please?"

Vincent was sobbing silently. He nodded.

Rena smiled. "Thank you"

"I'm so glad you were in my life, Vincent"

With that final statement, Rena disappeared from Vincent's grasps, her smiling face fading away into the air.

Vincent looked into the ceiling. He screamed Rena's name. Mirajane came over to comfort Vincent; he went straight into her arms and hugged her tight, letting his tears flow. Mirajane hugged back tightly, trying to protect him.


	21. Chapter 21 - Natsu and Lucy

Chapter 21: Natsu and Lucy

Vincent and Mirajane stayed like that for a few minutes. Vincent was sobbing; he never let his emotions go like this before. Mirajane kept hugging him tight so she can comfort him.

After a while, Vincent let go of Mirajane. He looked into her face; she had tears running down her face as well.

"You… you're crying too?"

"Yes" answered Mirajane. "Because I know how it feels like to lose someone. I felt like how you feel right now when I lost Lisanna the first time"

She put her right hand onto his face. She smiled at him, which made him feel warm inside. Vincent only knew darkness his whole life. For the first time, he felt light inside him.

He moved his face closer to Mirajane's. She didn't say anything; she moved closer to Vincent as well. Their faces were closer than ever.

Both Vincent and Mirajane closed their eyes. He let his lips cover Mirajane's as softly as he can. Mirajane's face colour changd into a shade of pink, but she did not back away. She kissed him back, and soon it turned into them two kissing back at each other.

A couple of minutes later both separated, in need to catch a breath. Vincent looked at Mirajane, getting closer and hugging her strongly. Mirajane hugged him back.

"Thank you, Mira"

"Thank you too, Vince"

"Vince?" Vincent stared back at her. "Since when did you start calling me that?"

"Since now, problem?"

"Nope" Vincent smiled warmly. Looking towards the corridor, Vincent continued, "We need to stop this now. For Rena, Bane, everyone who's associated with this guild"

"Will you be able to fight against your own father?" Mirajane asked.

"I've got to" Vincent looked at Mirajane. "Will you help me?"

Mirajane pecked Vincent's left cheek quickly. "Thought you'd never ask"

"Thank you, Mira" Vincent said, smiling but blushing slightly. Holding Mira's hand, they dashed forward towards Natsu. "Let's go"

**Meanwhile, ahead of Vincent and Mirajane, down the corridor **

Natsu was running towards the centre. Lucy's scent was getting stronger, he knew she was there. While he was running towards the centre, he felt the battle Vincent was in finished; he felt a big magic power disappearing.

_So Vincent won. I hope they're ok_, Natsu thought while running to Lucy.

"You should worry more about yourself" a voice boomed through the corridor. Natsu looked around to see where the voice came from, clenching his fists and causing fire to come out from them.

"Who is that?!" shouted Natsu.

"Tsk. And you call yourself a Dragon Slayer. How disappointing", the voice smirked.

"I am Arthur Pendragon. The guild master of Devil's Eye, and master of all darkness. And the conqueror of this petty world"

"The guild master?! So you're the one who's controlling Lucy!"

"Indeed I am" said the voice. "Want her back, Salamander? If you want her back, come and claim her"

Further on, Natsu heard a wall open. He ran towards the opening.

He ran through the corridor, and arrived into an opening. The opening was huge; it was twice the size of Fairy Tail's Guild hall, and the ceiling was really high. Ahead of him, there was a door, almost touching the ceiling. It was –

"Eclipse" Natsu looked on.

But this Eclipse was somewhat different from the first one Natsu saw. It was bigger than the original, and it was blacker. Looking at it made Natsu feel nervous.

"So one fairy finally arrives to the scene" said the voice. From the corner of the room, a person stepped out of the darkness. He stared at Natsu, his eyes showing no sense of emotion or life. It was only showing darkness.

"So you're master Pentagon, whatever his name is"

"It's Pendragon" said master Pendragon angrily. "Seems like our dragon slayer is stupid too"

"Why you-"

Natsu stepped closer to the Eclipse, but felt his magic was being sucked from him, even though he was not using any magic.

_What's going on? I'm not using any magic!_

"So you've realized" said Master Pendragon. "This Eclipse is different from the original, as you can see. The original would have sucked the magic out of you when you used your magic. This one, on the other hand, will suck anything that has magic inside them"

"Then… why isn't your magic getting sucked into it?"

"Thanks to her, I'm protected" said Pendragon. He stepped behind, and out came—

"LUCY!"

Lucy stepped into the light, where Natsu was able to see her visibly. She was wearing a black costume, similar to what Edolas's Lucy was wearing, but with more armour, this time in a black colour. She was staring at Natsu; her eyes were showing no light.

"Quiet, Dragon Slayer. Your fight ends here" Lucy said with a firm voice. She dashed towards Natsu, holding a sword in one hand.

Natsu hesitated. _Is she going to attack me?! No!_

"Lucy, you need to wake up! Stop listening to him!"

"I said, SHUT UP!"

"You're Lucy! You're Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail! You're-"

"SILENCE!"

With that shout, Lucy slashed at Natsu. Natsu dodged the slash, backing up and staring at his love. He couldn't believe Lucy would attack him.

"Hahaha!" laughed Master Pendragon. "Two love birds fighting against each other, now this is what I'm talking about!"

"If you want to defeat me, Salamander, you will have to go through your beloved first! Can you kill your one true love?" he asked with a snigger.


	22. Chapter 22 - Lucy

Chapter 22: Lucy 

Again and again Lucy attacked Natsu. Natsu was able to dodge Lucy's attacks, but when he had a chance to attack, he hesitated.

_Attack.. Lucy? I can't do that!_

"Why are you not attacking?! COME ON!"

"Lucy, wake up! You're not part of them!"

"SHUT UP!"

With that shout, she swung the sword she was holding.

"Dark Flame!"

Black flames emerged from the sword, and headed towards Natsu. Natsu realized this attack; it was the flames that wounded him in Halgion.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Natsu's attack hit the black flames. It caused a massive explosion, but the black flames continued to head towards Natsu. Natsu managed to dodge the flames.

"What the?! It's stronger than my fire?!" Natsu said with a shocked expression.

"Nothing is stronger than this" Lucy looked down upon the sword. "It's called the Blazing Flame. It will overpower any fire mage" Looking at Natsu in an evil yet seductive way, Lucy continued, "especially against a Fire Dragon Slayer like you"

Lucy's look made Natsu step back a bit, but he was starting to panic inside his head.

_What am I supposed to do? I can't make Lucy wake up! I need to think of something!_

"Stop thinking, more fighting!" shouted Lucy. She swung her sword again.

"Eternal Blaze!"

Scores of black flames appeared from the sword and headed towards Natsu. He tried to counter attack with as many moves as he could.

"Fire Dragon's Flaming Hammer!"

"Fire Dragon's Claw!"

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

But no matter how many attacks Natsu threw, the black flames kept beating Natsu's attacks, nullifying them. The black flames hit Natsu with full force, causing massive damage to him.

"GAAAAAAAHHH"

Natsu screamed in pain. Lucy was laughing at how Natsu was screaming.

"Hahaha! What is that petty scream?! Let's see if you can scream properly!" Lucy swung her sword again.

"Dark Blaze!"

A dark beam of fire shot out of the sword, hitting Natsu in the stomach. Natsu let out a yelp of pain, this time sounding more painful than before.

"ARRRGH"

"Hahahaha!" Lucy laughed out loud. "Now that's more like it! Let's see-"

Before Lucy could say more, Natsu got up and dashed towards her. Lucy was ready to attack, but Natsu dashed pass her.

"What?!"

Natsu headed straight towards Eclipse. Pendragon was standing there, anticipating Natsu's attack.

"Dragon Slayer Technique: Crimson Lotus: Expoding Flame Blade!"

Natsu's final attack headed towards Pendragon, but Pendragon put one hand up. Natsu's attack was dispensed straight away.

"What?" Natsu was shocked. "How about this?!"

Natsu tried to draw fire into his fists, but realized his magic was getting sucked away. He was too close to Eclipse.

"Shit! My magic-"

"Tut tut, Salamander. How disappointing" Pendragon raised his fist. "I wonder what Igneel saw in you"

"Dark God's Iron Fist!"

Pendragon's attack hit Natsu in the stomach. The darkness caused a massive explosion, and Natsu was flown back towards Lucy's direction.

Natsu crashed onto the floor, sustaining massive damage and in severe pain.

"Wh.. what.." Natsu wheezed. 

**Futher behind the opening, in the corridor**

Vincent and Mirajane were running as fast as they could to get to Natsu. They felt the magic flow; they knew Natsu was fighting,

"I hope Natsu is ok" said Mirajane with a worried tone.

"Me too" said Vincent. Vincent's tone worried Mirajane further. "Natsu is strong, but Pendragon is stronger than that. He ws the only one that was able to control the darkness properly, and he was able to enhance it"

"Enhance it?"

"Yeah. He created his own dark magic technique" Vincent looked at Mirajane. "He created his own God Slayer Technique. He calls it the Dark God Slayer magic" 

**Back to the Opening, where the Eclipse is**

"What… was that? And You… you said Igneel's name"

Natsu was trying to stand up, but he was heavily injured.

"Yes, son of Igneel. That was the Dark God Slayer magic. I am Arthur Pendragon, the Dark God Slayer"

Natsu looked upon him. For the first time, Natsu felt a twinge of fear.

"As for Igneel, I tried to control the brute, but he was too powerful for me. That is why I focused on Acnologia. i will be able to control the King of Dragons with this dark power I hold now" Pendragon explained, while hold his arms up and showing off the darkness that was surrounding it.

"Heh" Natsu sniggered. "If you couldn't control Igneel… why do you think… you can control Acnologia?" Looking up at Pendragon, Natsu continued, "You're an idiot"

Pendragon's eye colour changed and showed anger. "SILENCE!"

"Dark God's Flaming Darkness!"

Towers of darkness hit Natsu full on. Natsu screamed in pain.

"AAAAAAAAA"

"How dare you snigger at me!" shouted Pendragon. "You do not even have the power left to stand up! That is it! Lucy, KILL HIM!"

Lucy, who was being a spectator until then, heard Pendragon's order, and started to walk towards Natsu, with the Flaming Blaze in her hand.

Natsu was lying on the floor, his injuries were too heavy and he couldn't get up. Blood was coming out from his heavier injuries.

"Lu.. Lucy…" Natsu wheezed out. Lucy stopped on her tracks towards Natsu.

Pendragon was staring at Lucy. "What are you doing, Celestrial Mage?! FORWARD! KILL HIM! Kill him, then we can start the process of opening the Eclipse!"

Lucy continued towards Natsu, but her face expression looked as though she was in pain.

She finally stood in front of Natsu. She held the sword up, intending to throw it down towards him.

"Lu… Lucy… please… come back to me" Natsu said.

Lucy froze. She still had the sword raised with one hand, but she didn't move. She was staring at Natsu.

"What are you doing?! KILL HIM!" Shouted Pendragon.

Lucy's arm that was holding the sword was shaking. Lucy stared blankly at Natsu. Suddenly, she spoke. 

"Na… Natsu…"

Natsu looked onto Lucy. "Lucy?"

"Natsu…" 

"Lucy, you're back!"

"No… I'm no…t. I can't con… trol myse…lf"

"Lucy, don't give up! Fight it!" 

Lucy looked down onto the floor. When she looked back up at Natsu, she had a smile on her face, her eyes having some colour back.

"I'm sorry… Natsu. This is the on… ly way" she said with a smile.

"What? What are you trying to do!?"

With the smile still on her face, Lucy swung the sword, but pointed the sword tip towards her.

"NO! LUCY!" 

STAB. 

Lucy stabbed herself in the stomach. The sword pierced through her, causing darkness to come out of the wound, but also blood.

Natsu screamed Lucy's name. 

"LUCY!"


	23. Chapter 23 - The Eclipse Opens

Chapter 23: The Eclipse Opens

Lucy fell onto the floor, the sword still piecing her. Massive amounts of darkness and blood were oozing from her wound. Natsu dashed towards Lucy.

"No No NO! LUCY NO!"

Natsu was trying to close Lucy's wound, but he couldn't pull out the sword from Lucy. He was panicking.

_No no NO! What am I going to do?!_

Meanwhile, Master Pendragon was staring at the two. He couldn't believe Lucy was able to withstand his Dark Mind and reject his order.

"That's impossible…", he was saying. "How was she able to withstand my Dark Mind?"

He was looking at Natsu trying to stop Lucy from dying. Then he realized, _The power of feelings… this is why she was able to fight against it._

Just then, two voices were heard throughout the opening. Vincent and Mirajane arrived at the scene, and saw Lucy on the floor, covered in blood.

"SHIT!"

"LUCY!"

Mirajane dashed towards Natsu and Lucy. She looked at Lucy's state, and instantly knew this was serious. She called Vincent for help. "VINCENT!"

Vincent, who was staring at the pool of blood, went straight to Lucy.

"What happened? How-"

Looking at Lucy, his expression changed straight away. He kneeled down, and started tugging at the sword that was still piecing through Lucy.

"WAIT! What are you doing?!"

"Calm down, Natsu! I'm trying to pull this out, it's going to kill her if we don't! Hold onto her!"

Looking down at Lucy, Vincent continued, "Stay with us, Lucy Heartfilia. Don't you dare let go!"

Natsu was holding onto Lucy's hand; he could tell she was still alive, but barely. Lucy was looking at Natsu.

"Na…tsu…"

"Lucy, it's ok. You will be ok" Natsu was saying that to Lucy, but he was more saying it to reassure himself that Lucy will survive.

"Ok" looking at Natsu, Vincent continued, "3…2…1… NOW!"

With a thud, Vincent pulled out the sword from Lucy's stomach. Blood gushed out from the wound, with Lucy screaming in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA"

"Natsu, Mira, hold onto the wounds! Do not let the blood gush out!"

Mirajane and Natsu were holding onto the wounds, trying their best to keep the pressure on it. Vincent was gathering magic into his hands.

"Dark Healing"

With that, Vincent touched both sides of Lucy's wounds, darkness covering it. After a minute or two, he let go, while the darkness covered the wound.

"You have to keep her like this now" Vincent said. "The darkness will heal the wounds, but it's only temporary. We need to move her fast before the darkness disappears"

"What are we going to do now?" asked Mirajane.

"What do you think?" said Vincent, standing up and turning around to look at Pendragon. "We have to stop this"

Vincent tried to head towards Pendragon, but Natsu stopped him by putting a hand out. Vincent looked at Natsu.

"Natsu?"

"Stay out of this. This is my fight" said Natsu. Fire started to engulf Natsu. Vincent tried to say something to him, but he stood back. Natsu's magic aura started to change. It was becoming more like a… _dragon_.

Scales started to show up on Natsu's skin. Vincent knew what was happening.

"Dragon Force"

_But how is he able to activate Dragon Froce? _Vincent asked himself. _Unless... it can't be... can he be..._

Pendragon was standing there, witnessing Natsu's transformation. He took a step back, but composed himself.

"So this is the true power of a Dragon Slayer" said Pendragon. "It is powerful… but I am more powerful than that, Son of Igneel"

Darkness started to engulf Pendragon. He concentrated on gathering all the darkness around him. When the darkness subdued, he was in full armor.

"Dark God Mode" Pendragon announced. "Now, you will die, son of Igneel"

"No" said Natsu. "You are the one who is going to die" his face looked murderous.

Suddenly, the ground shook. The surrounding walls started to shake, and the pillars were starting to crumble.

"What's going on!?" shouted Mirajane.

Vincent looked around. Then he realized.

"The Eclipse… it's opening!"

He looked back at Mira, where she was tending to Lucy. She was still breathing; he knew she was still alive. "I don't understand, why is the Eclipse opening?!"

"HAHAHAHA!" Pendragon laughed out loud. "Seems like it did work!"

"What do you mean?!"

"Sacrificing the Celestrial Mage so the Eclipse will open. I never said how the mage should be sacrificed" sniggered Pendragon. "By the celestrial mage sacrificing herself to save her _lover boy_, it unlocked the path to open the Eclipse. I must thank you, Salamander" Pendragon said looking upon Natsu, "If you didn't come to rescue your _true love_, Eclipse wouldn't have opened" he ended with a snigger.

That was the last straw for Natsu. He stepped towards Pendragon, and with a flick of an eye, he went in to battle the master of Devil's Eye. The last battle between Fairy Tail and Devil's Eye had begun.


	24. Chapter 24 - Acnologia

Chapter 24: Acnologia

Pendragon anticipated Natsu's move onto him, but he did not realize that Natsu was able to move _that _fast.

Natsu moved into Pendragon's blind spot, and attacked straight away.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Natsu's attack hit Pendragon in the stomach. It hit the armor covering Pendragon; he smirked. Suddenly, the armor cracked. Pendragon stared down at the armor, his eyes widening. The armor smashed into pieces, and he was thrown off the floor, flying through the opening and crashing into a pillar, collapsing it.

Pendragon couldn't believe it. "That's… impossible" he panted. "No one can penetrate this armor—

Natsu was already flying into Pendragon's blind spot again. Pendragon tried to block the attack, but Natsu was too quick.

_Shit! He's too quick!_ Thought Pendragon.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Natsu's attack penetrated the armor again, and smashed the armor that was protecting the shoulders. Pendragon was flown back into a wall, crashing into it and causing an explosion.

Vincent was staring at the fight, his eyes widening with shock. _I can't believe it, Pendragon is being pushed in strength. So this is Natsu's true power… _

Pendragon stepped out from the debri. His armor was cracking all over the place. He glared at Natsu, "How dare you attack me like that?!"

With a shout, darkness engulfed Pendragon, regenerating his armor. It also healed his wounds. Natsu was staring at him.

"Can you do this, son of Igneel? Can you regenerate and heal your wounds like this?"

Natsu didn't say anything. He just stared on, eyes looking murderous.

"No time to speak? Ok, have it your way" said Pendragon coldly. He went in to fight Natsu, and Natsu responded. They started to fist fight against each other.

Vincent was continuing to staring at the fight. Suddenly, he heard a roar coming from where Eclipse was. He looked on, and saw a being coming out of the Eclipse.

It was a dragon.

"SHIT!" shouted Vincent. Looking at where Mirajane and Lucy were, he cast a spell.

"Dark Wall!"

A dark circle engulfed the space where Mirajane and Lucy were, and Mirajane shouted back at Vincent.

"Vince, what is this!?"

"The Dragons are coming through! That spell will protect you and Lucy from them!"

"But what about you?! You need to come in here!"

"NO!" said Vincent. "I need to stop them from coming through"

He focused his magic strength. He was about to attack, when suddenly—

BOOM.

With a massive sound, an attack came from nowhere, and hit the dragon full on. The dragon screamed in pain, and fell. Vincent looked around, but he felt the attack. It was really nostalgic to him.

**Outside the Devil's Eye's layer**

The battle between the Devil's Eye mages and Fairy Tail outside the layer was over. Fairy Tail were able to defeat all the mages, and were tying them up so they couldn't run away.

"Thank god it's finished here" said Gray. "What do we do now?"

"We can't do anything" said Elfman. "Most of us used our magic too much, we need to rest a bit before we can help the others out"

Suddenly, they felt a big pressure coming towards them. It was coming north, and it was getting stronger and stronger. They were wondering what it was; when they realized, their faces went white. They called out for the Master.

"Master, we need to get out of here!"

"Its ACNOLOGIA!"

**Back to the opening, where Eclipse is positioned**

Vincent looked up at the ceiling. Part of it was collapsed due to Acnologia attacking the first dragon coming out. From the opening of the ceiling, a face of a dragon came in. Vincent knew it too well.

"Acnologia"

"Well well" said Acnologia. Mirajane was shocked; it was the first time she heard Acnologia speak, since the last time she saw the Dragon King, it refused to speak to any of the Fairy Tail mages at Tenrou Island.

"How long has it been, Vincent? 5 years? 10 years?"

"14" answered Vincent. "Are you going senile, old man?" he sniggered.

Acnologia stared at Vincent, his glare sending everyone there a chill down their spine. "How dare you speak to me like that. Have you lost your manners?"

"You left me for 14 years! And you expect me to say hi to you in open arms after all this time!? You're having a laugh"

Acnologia grumbled, but Vincent could tell the dragon was sniggering. Vincent sniggered back. "It's good to see you again"

The dragon stared at Vincent. "Me too, V—

"Finally!" shouted Pendragon. "Now, I can rule the world!" He pointed at Acnologia.

"DARK MIND!"

"Acnologia, NO!" screamed Vincent.

The ancient spell hit Acnologia. Acnologia roared, and fell silent.


	25. Chapter 25 - The Dragons

Chapter 25: The Dragons

Everyone was staring at Acnologia. They were all wondering if the ancient spell worked or not.

"Acnologia, roar" ordered Pendragon.

Acnologia roared. It's roar sent everyone back a bit, and sent fear down everyone.

Vincent was trembling. _No, this can't be true! He couldn't have got Acnologia under his control!_

"Acnologia, snap out of it! You're the King of Dragons, don't get controlled by scum like him!"

"SILENCE!" screamed Pendragon.

"Dark God's Arrow!"

An arrow made by darkness flew through the air, and pierced Vincent through the right shoulder. Vincent yelped in pain, and kneeled onto the floor.

"VINCENT!" screamed Mirajane in fear.

Vincent held onto the dark arrow that was piecing through his shoulder. He looked up at Pendragon, "Why not my heart? You could have killed me there"

"Where's the fun in that?" smirked Pendragon. "I want you to suffer as much as I can throw at you, before I kill you. Then you will know how much it hurt us when you betrayed us"

"Us?"

"Yes, us, Vincent. Your guild. Your family" Pendragon said, with a hint of sorrow in his eyes. "How could you leave us like that? How could you betray us like that?"

I didn't betray you" said Vincent. "You betrayed yourself by letting the darkness take over you"

Pendragon narrowed his eyes. He attacked Vincent again.

"Dark Dod's Arrow Rain!"

Hundreds of Dark arrows started to fly towards Vincent. Vincent pulled the dark arrow that was still in his right shoulder, and attacked.

"Dark Dragon's Roar!"

Vincent's roar destroyed most of the arrows, but a few still made it through. Vincent dodged the rest of the arrows, but felt the sharp pain in his right shoulder.

"Seems like you can't move as fast, my son" said Pendragon.

"Don't call me your son" said Vincent while glaring at his foster father. "I stopped thinking of you as my father after you let yourself be taken over by darkness. Acnologia is my real parent" looking up at the Black Dragon, Vincent continued, "You'll never be like him"

Pendragon's face was covered in anger. "How dare you" he spoke. The tone of voice made Vincent feel fear. "That is the last time you insult me"

"Acnologia, kill Vincent!"

"No"

Acnologia answered.

Everyone looked at the King of Dragons. "I will not kill my son, human"

Pendragon looked at Acnologia, his eyes widening with shock. "How can this be?! I order you, KILL HIM!"

"NEVER!" Acnologia screamed. His roar made Pendragon step back in fear.

Acnologia laughed. "You think you can control me with that petty spell?! You couldn't control Igneel, why did you think you can control me? Me, the King of Dragons!" Acnologia finished the sentence with a laugh. "You're pathetic, human"

Pendragon stared at Acnologia blankly. He was trembling.

"What's this? Showing signs of weakness are we?" Acnologia sniggered.

Suddenly, the whole room shook. Even Acnologia was taken by surprise.

"What was that?"

Vincent looked towards the Eclipse, and screamed.

"FUCK!"

The Eclipse Door was swung open, and herds of dragons came through the door. All the dragons let out their roar, making the earth tremble. The dragons from 400 years ago have returned to the present.

"This is the beginning of the end" Mirajane trembled in the barrier.


	26. Chapter 26 - The Final Battles Begin

Chapter 26: The Final Battles Begin

**Outside the Devil's Eye's Layer**

The Fairy Tail mages were gathering together. As soon as Gray and Elfman screamed Acnologia had arrived at the scene, Master Makarov ordered the guild to pull back, in case the Black Dragon attacks the mages. With the mages of Devil's Eye defeated and in chains, the mages gathered around at the edge of the forest.

Gray, Elfman and the Thunder God Tribe were in battle position, just in case Acnologia attacked them again like last time. But no matter how long they waited, the king of dragons did not take any notice of them.

"Why isn't it attacking us?"

"Does it even suspect that we're here?"

"To be honest, I don't think it even cares if we're here or not" Gray told Elfman and Freed. "It already knows it can destroy us with a blink of an eye"

Suddenly, the Fairy Tail mages heard a roar. They looked at Acnologia; but the Dark Dragon did not move. It even looked as though the king of dragons was startled by the roar too. The earth trembled; the ceilings of the Layer were collapsing.

And from the massive hole, tens of hundreds of dragons started spilling out into the air. The Fairy Tail mages were shocked.

"They failed to stop the Eclipse!" shouted Gildarts, who joined the rest of the mages.

"No time talking about it!" shouted Master Makarov. "Gildarts, get Wendy out of here! And brats!" Makarov started to make himself big with his Giant magic. "Get out of here! That's a ORDER!"

**Back into the Layer, about 10 minutes away from here Eclipse is**

Gajeel, Laxus, Jellal and Erza managed to meet up together. All of them were heavily injured, and needed rest in order to continue through the layer.

"I hope the others were able to get to Eclipse" said Jellal.

"I'm sure of it" reassured Erza. "This is Natsu you're talking about. He will do anything to save Lucy and stop Eclipse"

Laxus and Gajeel smirked jokingly at the statement, but they both knew how strong Natsu is, and how strong his feelings are for the celestrial mage.

Suddenly, the earth shook. The mages were startled by it.

"What was that?!" said Gajeel.

Jellal focused. When he opend his eyes, he looked terrified. "Eclipse's been opened. The dragons are coming through. We need to get there now!"

**Back at the opening, where the Eclipse is**

"This is the beginning of the end" Mirajane said inside the barrier, terrified.

"No it's not"

Mirajane looked up.

Vincent was focusing on gathering the darkness around him.

"Don't give up yet, Mira", said Vincent.

"But…" Mirajane looked down onto the floor again.

"Look up, Mira!"

Mirajane looked up, and she saw Vincent punch his knuckles together.

"We haven't lost yet. Isn't that right, Natsu?" Vincent asked the Fire Dragon Slayer, who was still in his Dragon Force mode, focusing on Pendragon.

"Aye", said Natsu. "We will win this"

Vincent smiled. "Now that's more like it!"

Vincent looked up into the sky. "I'll take care of the dragons. You defeat Pendragon. Defeating him should stop the Eclipse"

"Ok"

"Black Dragon Mode"

With that shout, Vincent changed into the Black Dragon Mode again. His wings opened up, and he flew into the sky, intending to stop the dragons from spreading around Fiore. The dragons caught a glimpse of Vincent.

"What's this, a Dragon Slayer?" said one dragon.

"One that has managed to learn how to open his true power, it seems" said another dragon. "but he still too weak"

"He is still only human" said the first dragon. And with that, the dragon let out his breath, intending to kill Vincent.

Vincent dodged the attack, and before the dragon can even react, Vincent attacked.

"Black Dragon's Dark Flame Blade!"

Vincent's sword like attack severed the dragon's head. The dragons's body fell onto the floor, shaking the earth when it landed. Vincent was holding onto the severed head; he threw it onto the land below. His right arm and hand were covered in dragon blood.

The other dragons were startled by this; no human was able to defeat a dragon like that so easily.

"Why you!"

"How dare you defeat a dragon like that!"

"Bring it on!" Vincent shouted at the dragons. "Let's see who can defeat the son of Acnologia!"

The dragons were shocked to hear this. Then they saw Acnologia standing nearby.

"It's Acnologia!"

"What do we do? Do we…"

"It doesn't matter, its hundreds to one! Even the mighty _King of Dragons_ cannot defeat all of us!"

And with that, the dragons headed towards Vincent and Acnologia.

"Sorry, seems like I got you involved, old man" said Vincent.

"It does not matter" said Acnologia. "They threatened you. That's an insult towards me. I will show them why I became the king of Dragons all those centuries ago"

Looking at each other, Vincent and Acnologia smiled. Looking back at the dragons, the duo confronted the herd of dragons full on.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Natsu was standing in front of Pendragon. Pendragon was panicking.

"I cannot believe this. Why cannot I control the beast! I am controlling the DARKNESS!"

"It's because you're weak" said Natsu.

Pendragon looked upon Natsu, his eyes full of hatred. Then he laughed hysterically.

"It does not matter! Once the dragons destroy the world, I can gather the remaining survivors and rule them! You will still be defeated, Dragon Slayer!"

"Then I will stop you"

Lightening started to engulf Natsu. Pendragon was looking at his opponent, eyes wide open.

"Lightening Flame Dragon Mode"

With Dragon Force activated, Natsu activated the thunder power he received from Laxus.

"So this is your full power" said Pendragon. "Very well"

Darkness covered Pendragon. When the darkness subdued, Pendragon was covered in Dark armour, his face looking more like a Devil.

"Dark Devil God mode"

Natsu just looked on. And, with a thud, he leaped towards Pendragon.


	27. Chapter 27 - The Final Battle Ends

Chapter 27: The Final Battle Ends

"Lightening Flame Dragon's Spear!"

"Dark Devil God's Claw!"

Natsu's and Pendragon's attacks caught themselves in the air, causing a friction of flame, lightening and darkness. It caused a massive explosion in mid-air; once the explosion subdued, the two were fist fighting one another.

Both mages were throwing punch after punch, kick after kick, and while one gets pushed back, they kept on pushing back.

Vincent was looking at the fight in the air, impressed with how it's going on.

_I really can't believe Natsu is pushing Pendragon like that. He really is stronger than I thought…_

While he was thinking, a dragon flew into Vincent, trying to bite Vincent's right arm off. Vincent dodged just in time and attacked the dragon.

"Black Dragon's Roar!"

Vincent's attack engulfed the dragon, eating its scales and destroying the wings. The dragon let out a cry of pain, and fell onto the ground.

"Phew, that was close"

"Focus on the battle, Vincent!" Acnologia screamed.

On the ground, the Fairy Tail mages were shocked to see what was unfolding in front of their eyes. Acnologia was fighting against its own kind, and Vincent was fighting against the beasts, already killing a few dragons.

"I don't believe it" Gray huffed. "That's… Vincent?"

Master Makarov was staring at the battle. Even he couldn't believe what was happening. However, Makarov started to notice something.

"Vincent's in trouble"

"What do you mean?" asked Meledy.

"Look at how he's fighting"

As soon as Meledy started observing, she knew Makarov was right; Vincent was taking care of his right shoulder. The attack he suffered under Pendragon was starting to take its toll on him.

Vincent was flying around, dodging dragon attacks and attacking. But he was feeling the pain in his right shoulder. He could tell he couldn't last long.

_This is bad, god damn it my shoulder! _He thought. _I hope Natsu beats Pendragon soon._

Meanwhile, on the ground, Natsu and Pendragon were still fist fighting. It was still 50 – 50; it could go either way.

"Dark God's God Hand!"

Pendragon's attack hit Natsu at full force. Natsu wobbled, but he attacked straight away.

"Lightening Flaming Dragon's Eternal Blaze!"

Natsu's attack hit Pendragon with full force. He flew in the air, and Natsu caught up with him. He attacked again.

"Lightening Flaming Dragon's Double Iron Fist!"

Pendragon was flown onto the floor. He sustained massive damage onto his armor and body, but when he stood up, his injuries were gone again.

"You cannot defeat me, Salamander" Pendragon said coldly. "My injuries will keep regenerating. You, on the other hand, cannot regenerate yours. It will only be a matter of time"

However, Pendragon felt his magic was starting to disappear.

_I can't believe I am running out of magic against this low life!_

Pendragon jumped back at threw one of his strongest attacks towards Natsu.

_I can't believe he's making me use this!_

"Dark God's Cross!"

A Darkness cross flew towards Natsu. Natsu brushed it away, and ran towards Pendragon. Pendragon smiled.

"You fell for it, son of Igneel"

From the dispensed cross, chains came out, clicking onto Natsu's arms and legs. The chains fell onto the ground, and locked Natsu. Natsu tugged the chains, but they did not budge.

"They were the same chains that locked you up in the dungeon" Pendragon raised his fists, covered with darkness. Both of his fists were turning into swords. "You cannot escape them"

"Dark God's Twin Wwords!"

Pendragon's swords pierced through Natsu. It went through his abdomen and his left chest.

Natsu let out a gasp of pain and stood still.

"NATSU!"

Natsu knew who's voice that was. Lucy was able to sit up with help from Mirajane within the barrier.

Natsu was able to get a glimpse of where Lucy and Mirajane were. Lucy was crying her eyes out.

"Please don't die, Natsu" she was sobbing.

Natsu looked back at Pendragon. He started to pull the swords out of his body. Pendragon was shocked; he couldn't believe that Natsu was still able to move around even when his body was being pierced in two areas.

"I'm sorry, Pendragon" Natsu said with a deep voice. That voice made Pendragon feel fear. When he looked up, he saw a shadow of a dragon forming behing Natsu.

"Seems like I can't lose to you, or die on your hands. I need to win this. For her"

Natsu broke the double swords that were in him. Pendragon was pushed back with the force, his eyes wide.

"Dragon Slayer Technique"

Natsu got his fists together. Fire, Lightening, mixed with his dragon force power, was gathering.

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flaming Lightening Blade!"

Natsu's final attack hit Pendragon in full force. A mixture of fire, lightening and Natsu's hidden dragon power crushed Pendragon's armor, and destroyed the rest of Pendragon's magic power. Pendragon let out a roar of pain, and collapsed onto the floor.

Pendragon was lying on the ground, his wounds too deep to stand up. But he was smirking, "You… will never defeat me. I can… regenerate my wounds"

But no matter how many seconds he waited, his wounds did not heal. Instead, his wounds were causing severe pain to him. He coughed up blood.

"Wh…at?! Why isn't my… wounds…"

"You used too much of your magic power" Natsu said coldly. "You relied too much on your "Darkness". This world isn't just surrounded with darkness, there's light in it"

Pendragon didn't say anything. He was biting his tongue. Pendragon then suddenly screamed.

"WHY?! WHY COULDN'T I BEAT A BRAT LIKE YOU! I DEFEATED VINCENT!"

"He was holding back" said Natsu bluntly. "And as far as I've heard, you ganged up on him. If you fought him one on one, you'd have lost"

Pendragon stared at Natsu. He couldn't believe what he was saying.

"You tried to control the dragons to take over the world. But you couldn't even control one dragon. On the other hand, Vincent is fighting them right now, even killing a few. How did you think you can beat him?"

"But I think I know why Vincent was holding back" looking up at Vincent in the air, Natsu continued.

"Really?" Pendragon asked through gritted teeth. "And what… is that?"

"It's because he still thinks of you as a parent"

Pendragon froze.

"He wanted you to wake up from the darkness. And in his way, he tried. But you couldn't see through that"

Pendragon's mind was unraveling. He was looking back into his memories, when he was raising Vincent as his own son. How he found out Vincent's powers. How they set up the guild together, to create a larger family. How he wanted to learn the dark powers Vincent had. How he forced him to teach the guild the dark powers, when Vincent was reluctant. How Vincent warned him of the danger, and he ignored it. The look of pain on Vincent's face when Pendragon and the guild declared to rule the world in darkness. The look of pain… all these years…

Pendragon cried out loud. He was crying with sadness, sorrow, regret, and anger towards himself.

"Vincent still cares for you" Natsu continued. He stopped his Dragon Force, becoming normal again. "No matter what happens, family is family. Remember that"

Pendragon nodded, tears streaming down his face. The final battle between Fairy Tail and Devil's Eye has ended.


	28. Chapter 28 - The Ultimate Decision

Chapter 28: The Ultimate Decision

Pendragon was lying on the floor, his injuries too severe to move. Natsu was looking down onto him.

"Now, stop Eclipse"

"I can't"

Natsu looked at him. "What?" his eyes started to widen.

"I can't stop… Eclipse. I didn't design this… one to close. It will remain open… forever"

Natsu clenched his fists together. Fire and lightening started to form around it.

"Then I will have to destroy it"

"You can't… destroy it too. Anything that goes… near it, it will suck all the… magic out of it. You won't… survive it"

"Then it's a risk I will have to take"

Meanwhile, in the air, Vincent and Acnologia were keeping the dragons at bay. Both of them were getting injured by the dragons, but were putting up a good fight. In fact, Acnologia wasn't even breaking a sweat. Left and right, he attacked the dragons around him, sending them to their deaths. Vincent was looking at his dragon father, astonished at how easy he is making it look.

Vincent was doing his best to keep up with the attacks, but his right shoulder was causing too much disruption to his concentration. He was losing too much blood, and he could tell he was going in and out of consciousness.

_Damn it, snap out of it! FOCUS!_

When he looked up, a dragon came in to attack. Vincent managed to duck, but he was too slow; the dragon managed to get hold of one of his wings. The dragon tugged at Vincent's wing in full force. The wing snapped out of Vincent's back and blood spilled everywhere. Vincent let out a scream of pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGH"

Acnologia heard the scream, and looked back. He saw Vincent falling through the sky towards the ground.

"VINCENT!"

Acnologia tried to get to Vincent, but the dragons got in his way, blocking the path. Vincent kept falling through the sky.

THUD

With a large sound, the ground shook. Acnologia looked down. Vincent was held onto by Mirajane in her Satan Soul form. She was able to withstand the shock from the fall, but still grimaced.

Vincent was knocked out from the pain of the wounds and lost consciousness. When he looked up, Mira was in front of him.

"M… Mira…"

"Shh, keep quiet Vince" Mirajane said. She could tell he was gravely injured. "Don't move"

From above, a dragon realized Mirajane and Vincent. It flew down and opened its mouth, intending to release its Breath attack. Mirajane hugged Vincent so she can be a shield for him.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

"Thunder Dragon's Lightening Spear!"

The two attacks flew the dragon away from Mirajane and Vincent. When the dragon was down, a scarlet haired mage quickly came in to finish the job.

"Benisakura!"

The blade cut through the dragon's neck, severing its head from the body. The carcass slumped onto the floor.

Mirajane looked up, and it was Gajeel, Laxus and Erza.

"Guys!" Mirajane said happily.

"You ok, Mira?" Erza asked.

"I'm ok. But Vince is…"

"I'm ok, Mira" Vincent grumbled, trying to get up. "I can still fight"

"No you're not"

"Yes I am"

"I said No! You-"

"Will you two love birds keep it down!?" Gajeel and Laxus said together. Both Mirajane and Vincent fell quiet, their faces changing colour into a shade of light pink.

Erza was confused. "What… wait. Since when did you two get…"

"No time for answers, Erza" said Jellal, who just got to the area. "Here's some company!"

The dragons came towards the five mages. They all separated, and used their attacks.

"Dragon Slayer Technique: Iron God Sword!"

"Dragon Slayer Technique: Lightening God's Laser Circus!"

"Ancient Spell: Cema!"

"Nakagami Starlight!"

"Soul Execution!"

The five attacks hit the dragons at full force. However, it did not damage them one bit. The Fairy Tail mages were shocked that their attacks did not cause any damage to them. The dragons grinned, and flew towards them.

"Dragon Slayer Technique"

Everyone looked behind. Vincent was standing up, focusing on his attack.

"Everyone duck!"

When everyone kneeled down, Vincent unleashed his attack.

"Crimson Lotus: Black Flame Blade!"

Vincent's attack engulfed the dragons flying in, burning them to their bones. The dragons let out one last painful scream, and collapsed onto the floor.

The five mages looked back at Vincent.

"I did say I can still fight" he said sarcastically, but Mirajane knew he was hiding his pain. He wasn't going to last long.

While they were talking, the Dragons kept pouring into the sky.

"What are we going to do? There's too many of them!" said Laxus.

"We need to get to Eclipse, now" said Vincent. "We need to destroy it"

Natsu was heading towards Eclipse. He could feel the magic being sucked away from him, but he didn't care. He needed to destroy the thing to stop the dragons.

However, when he stepped around 200 meters away, the magic wind got stronger. Natsu felt his magic was being pulled away, and it was causing him pain.

He was about to kneel down on one knee, when suddenly—

"Natsu, get up! We need to get there!"

Someone pulled him up, and got his shoulder around. Natsu looked at the person.

"Lucy!"

"Come on, Natsu!"

"But Lucy! Your wound-"

"Thanks to Vincent it's ok for now. We need to get there!"

Natsu and Lucy both started to walk towards the Eclipse. Natsu then realized something; the magic wind that was sucking the magic power out of him ceased.

"Lucy, what did you do?!"

"I'm the key to the Eclipse. This won't affect you while you're with me. Let's go and stop this, Natsu"

"Ok!" Natsu said, putting on the smile he usually gave to Lucy. Lucy smiled back; she was able to hide the sadness in her eyes.

They walked together side by side until they were able to reach the Eclipse. Natsu let go of Lucy, and gathered his magic.

"I'm all fired up. How do we stop this Lucy?"

Lucy didn't respond.

"Lucy?" Natsu looked back, and was shocked at what he saw. "LUCY!"

Lucy's body was starting to glow, and she was starting to levitate into the air. With that, the Eclipse was starting to glow the same colour as Lucy.

"Lu.. Lucy.. what is going on!?"

"You have to stop this, Natsu. You're the only one who can"

"What do you mean? How can I stop this!?"

"You have to throw your Dragon Force through me. It will destroy the Eclipse"

"What?!"

"I'm the key to the Eclipse. If you channel your magic through me, the magic will directly hit the Eclipse, destroying it. All the dragons will return to 400 years ago, except for the ones that have been killed"

"But but… what will happen to you?"

"I won't survive. No one can survive that much amount of magic channeled through"

Natsu was not believing what he was hearing. In order to stop the Eclipse, he had to channel his magic through Lucy. In other words, _killing _her.

Natsu slumped onto the floor. Tears started to flow down his cheeks.

"I… I can't. I can't kill you, Lucy"

"You have to, Natsu" Lucy said, tears flowing down her cheeks also. "If we don't do this, the world will end"

Natsu shook his head. He couldn't decide what to do. This was the ultimate decision he had to make.


	29. Chapter 29 - I Love You

Chapter 29: I Love You

Natsu couldn't think properly. His world was crumbling around him. He couldn't comprehend that he _has_ to kill Lucy in order to destroy the Eclipse. He couldn't get himself to do it.

"Quickly, Natsu! Before it's too late!"

Lucy was glowing brighter than before. Natsu looked up at Lucy.

"No… I can't…."

"You have to Natsu! Or else the world!"

"But… if it's a world where you aren't there… I don't want t-"

"NO!" Lucy shouted at Natsu. "Don't you DARE think like that! Think of Happy! Think of Igneel! Think of the guild! Think of everyone who lives in this world! If you don't do this now, the world they live in will end!"

Natsu looked down onto the ground. He let his tears roam free down his cheeks, showing so much emotion for the first time in his life.

He heard something close to him. He turned his head, and saw Erza, Gajeel, Laxus, Jellal, Mirajane and Vincent fighting against the dragons.

"There's too many! We won't last long!" said Mirajane.

"Don't give up yet! Shouted Vincent. "There's still hope!"

They kept attacking and attacking the dragons, either knocking them away or throwing them to the ground.

"How close are we to the Eclipse, Vince?" Mirajane asked. She didn't get a reply. "Vince?" she looked back and was horrified.

"VINCE!"

Vincent fell to the floor. Mirajane went over to pick him up.

"Vince! Wake up, VINCE!"

"I'm here" Vincent grumbled, but through gritted teeth. "But I can't fight anymore… sorry" he said sadly.

Mirajane hugged him. "It's ok, it will be all right"

"If you don't do this now, our friends will die, Natsu" said Lucy, looking at the commotion. "Do you want your friends to die?"

Natsu shook his head. But he continued crying.

"I'm sorry, Lucy… right now, my head is thinking of you, more than anything. I can't lose you, I don't want to lose you. I… I…"

Natsu felt a touch of warmth on his cheek. He looked up; Lucy descended so she can touch Natsu's face. She was crying as well.

"That is why we need to protect this world. This world holds our memories together. The day when we met, the day when I joined the guild, the days when we went to jobs together. All of our memories reside in this world"

Lucy went in to hug Natsu tightly. "If this world is destroyed, those memories will also disappear. They will cease to exist. I don't want that to happen. I want our memories to live on in this world. Please don't let those memories disappear"

"If I meant anything to you, Natsu, please do this for me. For us. For our memories in this world"

Natsu hugged Lucy back tightly. He did not let her go for a minute or two. He was trying to remember everything about Lucy; her scent, her voice, her smile.

Natsu let go of Lucy, where she levitated into the air again. He nodded to Lucy, and started gathering all of his magic. Scales started to show up on his face. He entered his Dragon Force Mode.

Lucy nodded, tears flowing freely, putting on a sad but sweet smile. She lifted her arms up.

Natsu gathered all of his magic energy within one point. A mixture of Flame, Lightening, and Dragon Force came around Natsu.

"Dragon Slayer Technique!"

Natsu screamed in pain. Tears were flowing freely down his face. Lucy looked at Natsu, she was smiling. Natsu was never going to forget that smile.

"I love you, Lucy"

"I love you too, Natsu"

"Crimson Lotus: Flaming Phoenix Blade!"

The Dragon Slayer attack hit Lucy in full force. She did not change her expression; she still kept her smile towards Natsu. Lucy was engulfed in light, and disappeared. She was no more.

The attack channeled through her to hit the Eclipse. The Eclipse started to crack at places; the dragons realized and started to panic. They started to fly away. However, they were too late.

The Eclipse exploded. It shattered into pieces, flying everywhere. There was a loud explosion; Natsu was engulfed into it. The dragons that were near the explosion were caught into it and burned to death. They let out their last screams, and fell onto the ground.

In the sky, Acnologia saw Eclipse explode. The dragons around him started to glow.

"It is over" Acnologia declared.

The dragons around Vincent and the Fairy Tail mages started to glow.

"What is going on?" said Laxus.

"The Eclipse… it's been destroyed" said Vincent. He stood up straight away and started to run towards where Eclipse stood.

"Wait Vince! Your wounds!" said Mirajane, running after him.

The dragons around them started to disappear. The dragons roared; they knew they were returning to their own time.

"Goodbye" beomed Acnologia.

Soon, all the dragons disappeared. They returned to their own time 400 years ago. The world was saved.

Natsu was slumped on the ground where he hit Lucy with his full magic power.

"Natsu!"

Vincent ran towards the Fire Dragon Slayer. Natsu didn't move an inch.

"The Eclipse… you destroyed it" Vincent said with a happy tone. But when he looked around, his expression darkened.

"Where's Lucy? What happened to her!?"

"NATSU!"

Vincent looked around. Happy flew into the opening, screaming Natsu's name.

"Natsu, you ok?"

Natsu didn't answer. He still had his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, he made everyone freeze in fear.

"What… what is this cat doing here?"

Happy stared at Natsu with a shocked expression. "Natsu?"

"Who's Natsu? And… how is a cat able to speak?"

Vincent was shocked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Na… Natsu?"

Natsu looked back at Vincent. His face was blank; it did not have any emotion going through it.

"Who… who are you?"

Vincent stared at him.

"Wait… where am I?" asked Natsu, looking around. "What happened here?"

"Oh Natsu…" Vincent held his hands in his face, tears streaming down his face.

The battle between Devil's Eye and Fairy Tail had truly ended. Fairy Tail emerged victorious. But it came at a terrible price.

Who actually won the war? Who really lost something that they can never replace. Sadly, no one could answer that. None of the Fairy Tail mages, or Vincent, could.

**Two Years Later **

Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

Natsu Dragneel was waking up from his slumber. He was dreaming; the same dream that has been haunting him for two years since that day. He was in a mist, not knowing where to go. A voice is calling him. It keeps repeating his name. He knows that voice; he doesn't know how, but he does. Inside his heart, he knows who that voice belongs to. But he cannot remember.

Just as he was reaching out for that voice, the alarm goes off. Natsu groans, and hits the alarm.

"Not that dream again…" Natsu mumbled. He stared blankly into the wall. "Who is that voice?"

He thought for a bit, but shook his head. He was never good at thinking.

He got ready, and went out to school. Magnolia High School for Beginner's Magic.

It's been two years since the fateful day. Natsu resided to become a normal person; but on this day, his whole life would change again.


	30. Chapter 30 - A Changed Guild

Chapter 30: A Changed Guild

Natsu was walking down his usual route to school. He was finally able to not get lost; the first year and a half he kept on losing track on where he was going, and if it wasn't for Fairy Tail, he would have never remembered his path to school.

_Fairy Tail…_ Natsu thought. The strongest guild in Fiore. The town's pride. Natsu has seen a couple of the mages walking out from their guild to go to their job; in his eyes they all looked really strong. And luckily, he was good friends with some of them.

_I wish I was that strong_, sighed Natsu.

"Hey, Natsu!"

Someone called his name. He looked back, and there was a boy and a girl waving at him.

"Jean! Anna!" Natsu said happily. "How are you guys?"

"Not bad, yourself? You woke up late again?" said Anna.

"Erm… sort of" said Natsu sheepishly.

"Come on guys, we gotta roll. We'll really be late if we don't run now"

"Ok!" said the two.

The three started running towards the school. Behind them, a mage was looking on. He was wearing black clothes, a black cloak, and black boots.

It was Vincent.

He looked on at Natsu with a sad expression.

"Same as ever?" said a voice behind him.

"Yeah" said Vincent sadly. "Still the same as two years ago" he turned towards where the voice came from. It was Mirajane.

"You sure we're going to do this?"

"We have to. Master's orders" said Mirajane.

Sighing, Vincent looked back at where Natsu was. They were already out of sight.

"Ok, let's get this over with"

"You really aren't used to being in a guild, are you?" Mirajane teased Vincent.

"I used to be a freelance mage, Mira. I could do whatever I liked, wherever I wanted to go"

"So you regret-"

"No I don't" Vincent reassured her. "I've never regretted joining you guys. Since that day, my life's been nothing but bright. Thanks to you" said Vincent, smiling at Mirajane. "Thank you, Mira"

"Ok, ok, cut the cuteness" Mirajane huffed, her cheeks going pink. Chuckling, Vincent leaned in to kiss her cheek. Mirajane's face went bright red.

"You're so not used to this, are you?" said Vincent, teasing Mirajane.

"Shut up" Mirajane mumbled, but she was smiling at the same time. Laughing, Vincent held Mirajane's hand. "Let's go"

Mirajane nodded, and they started walking towards where Natsu was heading to. On Vincent's right wrist, a light blue Fairy Tail mark was visible. When he put it on, he asked for a light blue colour, to match Mirajane's. That was two years ago.

Two years have passed since Vincent joined Fairy Tail. Today, he was determined to get back his old friend into the guild.

**Back at the Fairy Tail guild hall**

Fairy Tail was busier than ever. Since the news broke out that they stopped the dragons again single handedly, job opportunities sky rocketed. New members have joined the guild, and they were all over the kingdom, working for Fairy Tail.

The mages that were in the guild hall were chatting and laughing, but there was something missed. A kind of warmth that disappeared two years ago. Fairy Tail learned to move on and live with it, but it was still hard for them.

At the bar, Makarov was drinking.

"You sure you want to start drinking at this time of the day?" Gildarts asked Makarov.

"I can do whatever I want to do" huffed Makarov. "Besides, your daughter's already been drinking for the past two hours"

"WHAT?!" standing up, he looked at his daughter. "CANA!"

"Whops" said Cana, her face a little red. Kinana and Lisanna laughed.

While Gildarts went over to talk to his daughter, Makarov looked around the guild hall. He was happy that the guild was noisy and bright; but he knew the warmth that was there before is gone. He sighed sadly.

"Why pull that face?" someone asked him.

Makarov looked back, and saw Gajeel.

"Just remembering it's been two years since that day"

Gajeel looked on. He knew what Makarov was talking about. "I know"

"You going for a job?"

"Yeah. Bunch of A-class bandits near the roads of Magnolia. Should be easy"

"Be careful. If they are A-class, it won't be a pushover"

"Who do you think I am?" Gajeel huffed. "I haven't failed a job yet since I became an S-Class mage. I'm not going to start failing a job now"

Makarov smiled. He remembered that he promoted Gajeel to an S-Class mage a year after that day. "You've grown up, Gajeel. I'm proud of you"

Gajeel looked at Makarov in a shocked expression. He looked away and grumbled, coughing in his fist; but his face looked happy.

"Anyway, better get going. I need to be back before _he_ starts ridiculing me"

Gajeel waved a hand at Makarov, and went outside the guild to his job.

Makarov finished his drink, and walked upstairs into the guild master's room. Laxus was staring outside through the window. He realized Makarov was in the room, and turned his attention towards him.

"You ok, gramps?"

"Might have started drinking a bit too early" Makarov said with a laughing tone.

Laxus facepalmed. "You're getting old, gramps"

"I _am_ old" Makarov answered him. "That's why I retired and made _you_ Guild Master" Makarov looked up at his grandson, "Master Laxus"

"Stop calling me that" Laxus said sheepishly. "I'm not used to it yet"

Makarov laughed.

"You told Vincent and Mirajane to get Natsu?" asked Makarov. Laxus nodded.

"It's time"

"What if it doesn't work?"

"If that's the case, that's the case. We can't do anything about that"

"Are you going to tell him the truth?"

"That's up to Vincent" Laxus looked down at Makarov. "I trust him. I'm sure he'll make the right decision"

That statement made Makarov smile. "You are becoming a good guild master, Laxus"

"Stop it" Laxus said sheepishly, but inside he was happy. Makarov laughed.

**Back at the school, where Natsu is studying at the moment**

It was hitting around 2 in the afternoon. A couple of hours have passed since Vincent and Mirajane arrived at the school. They sat outside the school premises, waiting for Natsu to come out.

"I think we arrived a bit too fast" said Vincent. "I told you we can have a bit of a lie in before we got ready"

Mirajane's face went a bit pink, but she argued against that. "We don't know if he will disappear off to somewhere"

"Like he's going to go anywhere" Vincent rolled his eyes, but he knew Mirajane was telling the truth; there have been signs Natsu was walking around Magnolia like he was trying to remember something.

"Vince, are you sure we don't need to tell Natsu the whole truth?"

"You still on about it?"

"I feel like we're cheating him" Mirajane looked at the school building. "We have the choice to tell him the whole truth of what happened that day. I feel like we're leaving him out of it completely"

"We decided with Laxus and Makarov, remember?"

"I know. But…"

Vincent's expression became serious. "Two years ago, in order to save the world, Natsu had to channel all his magic through Lucy to destroy the Eclipse, killing her. He killed Lucy with his own hands"

"I know how it feels like to take a life" he looked down at his own hands. "I really _really_ understand"

Mirajane looked at Vincent with a sad expression. She put her hand on Vincent's. Vincent looked at Mirajane and smiled. But he continued with a serious expression.

"There are times where it's better not to remember. I don't think Natsu wants to remember what he did"

The school bell rang. Vincent and Mirajane stood up, waiting for Natsu to come out.

A few minutes later, Natsu came out, talking to Jean and Anna. They were laughing.

Natsu looked up, and realized Vincent and Mirajane were standing there.

"Mirajane san! Vincent san!"

"Stop with the "san" will you?" Vincent said while facepalming his face.

"It's good to see you again, Natsu" Mirajane said with a smile. "How have you been?"

"I've been good!" said Natsu with a smile. "It's going well"

"See you soon, Natsu! Said Jean and Anna respectively.

"Ok! See you soon!" said Natsu.

On passing Vincent and Mirajane, Jean looked at Vincent. Their eyes met, and Vincent nodded. Jean nodded back, and headed away with Anna.

"Shall we?" asked Mirajane.

"Ok. But where are we going?" asked Natsu.

Suddenly three big figures lurked behind Natsu. Natsu felt the aura; when he turned around, he was terrified.

"What's this, Dragneel? Why aren't you doing our chores we told you to do?" smirked the first big guy.

"Come on, Des! I said I had something to-"

"I don't care what you have to do. You _have _to do our bidding. Get it?" said Des, the local school bully, clenching his fists. Natsu trembled.

"Yeah that's right" said the second guy, Tis.

"Do what he says, Dragneel" said the third guy, Dan.

Vincent and Mirajane stared at the bully. Vincent sighed. Des realized the two were staring at him.

"Who are these people?"

"Who's this fucking idiot?" Vincent said bluntly.

Everyone around them froze. No one in their straight mind swears at Des. Vains started to pop up near Des's temple.

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'Who the fuck are you, you fat twat'" Vincent said with a smile. Mirajane laughed.

Des clenched his fists. "Seems like I need to teach someone a lesson never to mess with the strongest mage in this town" He then looked at Natsu. "I will deal with you later" which made Natsu sigh in sadness. He knew he was in for a whipping.

"What did you say? You're the strongest mage in the town?" Vincent started laughing really hard.

"Vince, don't be so horrible" Mirajane said, although she was trying her best to not laugh.

"Sorry Mira. It was just so funny"

That was the last strike for Des. He stepped in to attack Vincent.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

An explosion engulfed the two.

"There it is! Des's best move!" said Tis.

"He won't be able to stand up!" said Dan.

Des smirked, but when the dust subsided, Des was shocked. Vincent just held his attack with one hand, and he was not hurt at all.

"Wh… what?"

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist?" said Vincent. His tone made Des tremble; it was more darker, more scarier. When Vincent stared straight into Des's eyes, he felt fear.

"Don't you dare use that name again" Vincent clenched his fist, gathering darkness into it.

"Dark's Dragon's Upper Cut!"

Vincent's fist touched Des's lower jaw. It came in contact, knocking a few teeth out of Des's mouth. Des flew in the air, causing him to scream.

"Mira, if you would do the honors" Vincent said with a smile.

"With pleasure" Mirajane smiled, but it was a smile with anger written all over it.

When Des was falling through the sky and almost hit the ground, Mirajane went in.

"Dark Kick!"

Mirajane's kick hit Des in the stomach. He let out a whimp, and crashed into the wall, causing it to collapse on top of him. He was passed out.

Tis and Dan couldn't believe what they just witnessed.

"You two" said Vincent. When the two looked at Vincent and Mirajane, they fell onto the ground.

Both Vincent and Mirajane were showing their auras to them. It was that terrifying, the two collapsed onto the ground, shaking in fear.

"If you go anywhere near Natsu again, you'll end up like that" Vincent said, pointing at Des.

"But it will be worse that what he suffered" Mirajane said, making her devilish smile.

Tis and Dan nodded, and started crying.

Natsu was just staring at the two. _Wow… they are scary. Thank god they like me_.

"You ok Natsu?" said Mirajane, her aura turning back normal and becoming the happy nice Mirajane again.

"Um.. yeah" Said Natsu sheepishly.

"Sorry we had to show that" said Vincent. "But the fucker deserved it" he said with a smirk.

Natsu laughed. "You two are so cool! How did you two get that strong?"

"We'll tell you on the way. Let's go"

"Where are we going?"

"Our master wants to take you somewhere. It might help you with regaining your memories"

"Really?!" said Natsu happily.

"Do you want to go?" asked Mirajane.

"Hells yeah!" said Natsu. "I'm all fired up!"

Vincent and Mirajane froze and stared at Natsu after he said that.

"What, did I say something wrong? I'm sorry!" said Natsu cowardly.

"No no its ok Natsu" said Vincent. "We've just haven't heard that phrase for a while, that's all" looking at Mirajane, he nodded. "Let's go"

So the three started heading towards the Fairy Tail guild hall, where a ship will take them to the Forest of Ashura. Where the war between Fairy Tail and Devil's Eye took place.


	31. Chapter 31 - To Ground Zero

Chapter 31: To Ground Zero

The three were walking towards the guild hall. On the way, the three the talking what Natsu was doing these days.

"Why did you let those three idiots bully you like that?" Vincent asked Natsu. "You can easily beat them up"

"No I can't!" said Natsu. "I'm not strong like you or Mira-san, I can't defeat a guy like that!"

Vincent wanted to say more, but was stopped by Mirajane. Vincent grumbled, but he kept quiet. Mirajane continued, "It's admirable that you don't resort to violence, Natsu. But there are times where you need to fight to protect"

"Fight to… protect" Natsu said, thinking about those words. He heard this phrase before. That voice said it in his dream, _fight to protect…_

"Natsu?"

"Sorry" Natsu answered Mirajane, shaking his head.

"Hey!" said a voice from afar.

Vincent and Mirajane looked on, and immediately recognized the mages coming towards them. Mirajane answered them back.

"Grey! Juvia!"

"You guys back from work?" asked Vincent. They both nodded.

"Body guard of a rock singer. Was a pain in the arse but it had to be done"

"He was flirting with Juvia" she continued, "But Gray-sama intervened. Gray-sama looked so scary but hot! Juvia liked it" she ended with a smile. Gray's face went a bit red below the eyes. Vincent and Mirajane smiled; Gray didn't know they were trying not to laugh out loud.

"You still letting her speak like that?" asked Vincent. Gray nodded. "It was weirder when she was speaking normally. This is better, it feels more normal"

"Oh Gray-sama!" said Juvia, hugging Gray sideways, knocking him down onto the floor. Vincent and Mirajane laughed.

Natsu was staring at the commotion, _they get along so well. I wish I had really good friends like that_.

When the laughter subsided, Gray noticed Natsu in the background.

"Hi Natsu"

"Hi Gray-san"

"STOP WITH THE SAN, WILL YOU!" both Gray and Vincent shouted at Natsu, after facepalming themselves.

Natsu squatted onto the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Mirajane and Juvia glared at the boys, where they stopped and kept quiet.

"It's ok Natsu. They just don't want you to be so polite all the time" Mirajane said to him.

"I'm… I'm sorry, it's just me" Natsu wimped.

Gray kept a poker face in front of Natsu, but he was grinding his teeth and clenching his fists. He was one of the Fairy Tail mages that took the longest to recover from the loss of Natsu and Lucy.

_This isn't Natsu! This isn't the flame breath I knew and I grew up with!_

Every time he sees Natsu, he felt like he was about to cry; he felt even to this day that he lost a dear friend. Juvia realized what Gray was thinking, and went it to hold his hand. Gray looked at her; after Juvia smiled at him, Gray relaxed and reciprocated her smile by smiling at her. Juvia went bright pink, which made Gray laugh.

"Ok ok cut the cuteness already" Vincent said sarcastically, earning a raised eyebrow from Mirajane. "We're already late, let's go to the guild"

**10 minutes later**

The five finally arrived at the guild. Natsu was looking at the building; every time he saw it, he was still awed by it.

"Let's go inside" said Vincent.

"Am I allowed to?" said Natsu with a scared tone.

"You really asking that?" said Gray. "You're always welcome to come in here"

Natsu looked at Gray. He smiled, "Thank you, Gray-san!"

Gray smiled, but he was still feeling sad.

"Took you guys long enough" said a voice from further into the guild.

"Sorry, we had a bit of a situation" said Vincent.

"A situation being Natsu was being bullied so we had to 'teach' them a lesson" said Mirajane with a smile.

The voice sighed. They heard a hand reaching the head and a facepalm.

"I somehow knew you two would do that"

"Sorry" said Vincent. "Natsu's here now"

"Ok"

The being stood up. It was Laxus. He looked at Makarov. "Is it ok if I put you in charge while I'm away, gramps?"

"If that's the guild master's orders, I will obey it", huffed Makarov. Laxus stared at his grandfather; Makarov laughed.

"I will, Laxus, don't worry" Makarov continued. "Hope this works"

"I know"

"Who else is coming with us?"

"I am" said a voice nearby. It was Wendy. In the two years, she grew up into a pretty young woman. There was still that aura of an innocence of a child around her, but something in her changed since that day. It was as though she grew up and was becoming more of the Sky Dragon Slayer Grandine wanted her to be.

"You sure?" asked Vincent. Wendy nodded, and Vincent smiled at her, "ok"

"What about that iron idiot? Is he not coming?" said Gray.

"I heard that" said a voice behind them. Looking back, they saw Gajeel walking into the guild.

"You finished your job early" said Makarov.

"Told you it won't take long", said Gajeel. Gray smirked, and Gajeel looked at him. "What is it, ice block? Still holding a grudge you couldn't become an S-Class mage?"

Gray was ready for a fight, and so was Gajeel. They both kept their battle stance.

"Guys, not now, please?" said Vincent, standing in the middle.

The atmosphere tensed for a bit, but after a minute or two, both mages lowered their guard.

"The Ship's waiting at the harbor, let's go" said Laxus. And on that note, the Fairy Tail mages and Natsu left the guild. Makarov was staring at the party that was leaving with a hopeful expression, hoping that at least one of his beloved children will return today.

At the harbor, the Fairy Tail mages were waiting. Natsu was staring into the sea; he felt a nostalgic feeling crossing his mind. He felt that he used this harbor before.

_I feel it… I've used this harbor to go somewhere… with someone… but who…_

"_Let's go to Garuna Island! Let's do this S-Class job just between us!"_

"_You sure we can do this job, Natsu?"_

"_Of course! I'm all fired up!"_

_That's… me?! And that voice… that's the voice I've been hearing every day! Who is that?! Who are you!?_

"Natsu? NATSU!"

Natsu woke up. Gray was shaking him on the floor.

"I'm… ok. Sorry" Natsu looked at the Fairy Tail mages. "What happened?"

"You were staring into the sea, and then you collapsed" said Vincent. "What happened?"

"I… I don't know" sand Natsu, holding his head. "I can't really remember anything"

Vincent and the others stared at Natsu. Gray helped Natsu up.

"Come on, you ok flame ball?"

"Yes I am, I… flame ball!?" Natsu looked at Gray.

"Whops, sorry" said Gray sheepishly.

"It's here" said Laxus.

When the mages looked up, a big ship was landing into the water. It had two huge engines in the front, and the body looked like it was a pod – racer.

"That's our ship?" asked Vincent.

"Yep" said Laxus. "Fairy Tail's own flagship, Star Sapphire"

The door to the ship opened. It reached to the harbor, and the mages got onto it, taking them inside the ship.

As soon as they stepped inside the ship, Natsu collapsed again. Vincent stepped in to keep him from falling onto the floor.

"You ok, Natsu?"

"I'm… not feeling well" said Natsu, his face colour turning green.

Vincent laughed. He let Natsu rest on one of the benches nearby. Natsu curled up onto the bench, trying not to vomit. The other Fairy Tail smiled at that scene; it's been a while when they saw something like this from before.

The mages went up to the ship bridge. A tall black cat was stirring the main controls.

"How's she doing Lily?" asked Gajeel.

The black cat turned back. He was smiling. "Everything is in check. She's ready to go in high speed. YEAH!" answered Panther Lily, finishing his sentence with the "Gihi" laugh.

"Who thought he'd change personality once he holds the controls", sighed Charles, who was sitting down near the controls.

"Yeah Lily! Let's do it again!" shouted Happy, flying around.

"Happy, Natsu's downstairs" said Vincent. Happy's face expression changed straight away, and flew down to where his ex-partner was.

"He still cares about flame breath huh?" said Gray.

"So do you" said Vincent. Gray smirked at that comment, but Vincent continued, "Not sure if you've realized, but you've stopped stripping your clothes off since that day"

"what?!"

"Anyways" looking at Panther Lily, Vincent continued, "Let's get going. Lily!"

"OH YEAH BABY!"

With that shout, Panther Lily hit the engines of Star Sapphire. The ship lifted off straight away without warning, and flew into the sky. The Fairy Tail mages were thrown off guard and fell onto the ground. Vincent managed to keep his balance and catch Mirajane in mid-air, holding her in a princess hug.

"You ok Mira?"

"Yeah" said Mirajane, her face going red.

"LILY!" screamed Gajeel. He was on the floor, with Gray, Wendy and Juvia on top of him. "Be careful next time!"

"What's the fun in that?! HELLS YEAH" screamed Lily.

"Don't talk to him when he's like that" said Charles. "He's not going to listen"

Now airborne, the Fairy Tail mages were heading to the Forest of Ashura. They were taking Natsu there so they can pay their respects to Lucy with Natsu, whether he will remember her or not.


	32. Chapter 32 - The Celestial Mage

Chapter 32: The Celestial Mage

Star Sapphire left Magnolia within a few minutes. As soon as the Fairy Tail mages that fell onto the ground got up, they were already miles away from the town. They looked up at Panther Lily.

"It'll probably take about an hour or so"

After he confirmed the amount of time it was going to take to get to the forest, the mages went outside onto the decks, feeling the breeze and looking at the skyline.

"I can't believe two years have passed since then" said Mirajane.

"I know. I feel like it's only been yesterday" said Vincent.

"But why did it take two years for us to decide to go there?" asked Gray. "We could have gone anytime"

"Did you really want to go there during these two years?" Vincent said to Gray. Gray stayed silent. "Thought so"

"What do you mean?"

"Your face and eyes said it all. You still thought they were still alive and were waiting if they passed though the guild doors like every day. You wanted them to be alive"

Gray bit his tongue. He wanted to say it's not true, but he knew Vincent was telling the truth.

"It's the same for everybody" Vincent looked around at Juvia, Wendy, Gajeel and Laxus. "Everyone here wanted both of them to be alive. They meant a lot to you. That's why you all stayed away – you all didn't want to admit that they were really gone"

Every word Vincent said stabbed them like a dagger into the heart. They all looked down, trying not to show their feelings.

"I'm sorry I'm sounding harsh, but it's the truth", said Vincent. "At least Natsu is still alive"

"Maybe that's why Erza left the guild" said Gray. Vincent looked at him. "You tried to stop her, right?"

"Yeah" Vincent said sadly. "I tried to talk some sense into her, but she wouldn't listen in the end. She didn't listen to Jellal, why would she listen to me?"

"Do you think she'll be there?" asked Gajeel. Vincent shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe she will, maybe she won't. At least I know that Jellal will be there"

"Did he contact you?" asked Mirajane.

"Yeah" said Vincent. "He and Meledy will be there. As for Erza, I'm not sure"

"What about you?" asked Laxus. "Will you be ok?"

Vincent smiled at Laxus. "Thanks, Laxus. I'll be ok. I've accepted their fate a long time ago, before this all kicked off"

No one said anything. They knew that Vincent was suffering too; most of his foster family was resting in peace there.

"You heard anything about Pendragon since then?" asked Laxus.

"No" said Vincent, looking up in the sky. "Last I've heard of him he was leaving Fiore. I don't know where he is now"

"At least he's alive" Vincent shrugged at that comment Laxus gave him. Laxus looked serious. "At least your foster dad is alive. Better than your dad being dead"

Vincent looked at Laxus. "I'm sorry"

"No problem"

"Do you think Salamander will regain his memories?" asked Gajeel.

"If he does, great. If he doesn't, he'll go back to where he was this morning" said Laxus bluntly.

"Can't we give Natsu-san some time?" said Wendy. "Maybe he will-"

"Even if he does regain his memories" said Vincent "Would he like to? If he does, will he ever be able to accept the fact that he killed Lucy with his own hands?"

Gray glared at Vincent. "Don't say things like that"

"It's the truth" said Vincent coldly. "Deal with it"

Gray was ready to attack Vincent, but Mirajane and Juvia stepped in. "Sorry, Vince is never good at talking to people" looking at Vincent, Mirajane continued. "You shouldn't have said that"

Vincent looked down onto the ground. "Sorry" he finally said. "I didn't mean to offend you"

Gray stepped back. "It's ok. Sorry too"

After that confrontation, they all remained silent. What did they get out of this war? Even after two years have passed, they still didn't have an answer.

**An hour later**

Star Sapphire landed in the Forest of Ashura. Luckily, the remains of Devils Eye's layer kept a large area uncharted from the forest trees, so Panther Lily was able to land it without much difficulty.

As soon as the door opened, Natsu slumped onto the floor.

"You ok Natsu?" asked Vincent.

"Never… again…" said Natsu, his face colour as green as a gremlin.

Vincent held him up, and the Fairy Tail mages continued towards the remains of the layer. Two years have passed, and the layer fell down to ruins. However, the walls were still intact, and the battle scars on the ground were still visible.

The Fairy Tail mages were walking through the layer, when Vincent stopped suddenly. He raised both arms in the air so the others can stop.

"What is it?" asked Mirajane.

"Someone's here" said Vincent. "And it's not Jellal and Meledy"

A figure stepped out from the shadows. His face made Vincent freeze.

"Pendragon"

The Fairy Tail mages were shocked to hear his name. All of them were ready to attack.

"Calm down, fairies" said Pendragon. "I'm not here to fight. I want to talk to Vincent, that's all"

Vincent nodded. He looked back at the others. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you"

"You sure?" asked Mirajane.

"He's not going to do anything now" said Vincent, eyeing up at his foster human father. "He's got more to lose"

"Ok" said Mirajane, kissing Vincent's cheek. "Be careful"

Vincent smiled at Mirajane. The Fairy Tail mages continued down the hall, leaving Pendragon and Vincent alone.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" said Vincent.

Pendragon raised his arms, and threw something towards Vincent. Vincent thought he was attacking him, but he realized it was something else. He caught it in mid-air and looked at it. It was a photo holder.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Vincent.

"Look inside it" said Pendragon. Vincent opened it, and he was shocked at what he saw.

It was a picture of Devil's Eye, before everyone was taken over by darkness. Everyone was smiling; Pendragon, Vincent, Rena, Bane. The other two that died before the war, Taka and Selene, were there too, both smiling. Simon was there too; his face was covered by the mask, but Vincent could tell he was smiling as well.

"It's the only photo I have left of the guild" said Pendragon. "You keep it"

Vincent was looking at the photo, his emotions on the brink already. A tear fell onto the photo holder. "Why give me this?"

"It's because you deserve it" said Pendragon. "I destroyed the guild. I took away all the smiles on that photo. I don't deserve holding that. You do"

Vincent didn't say anything. He looked up at Pendragon; Pendragon was smiling, not like how he used to smile when he was fighting against Natsu, but a genuine one from the heart.

"Thank you" said Vincent.

"Good luck with your new guild, Vincent" said Pendragon. He turned around to disappear into the shadows.

"I still think of you as my dad" said Vincent. Pendragon froze hearing that. "Good luck dad"

Pendragon didn't say anything. He covered his eyes with his right hand; he was crying.

"Thank you, my son"

And with that, Pendragon disappeared into the darkness.

Vincent stood there for a minute or two, trying to calm down. He managed to compose himself, and continued down the hall to catch up with the others.

A few minutes later, he caught up with the party.

"You ok?" asked Gajeel.

"Yeah" said Vincent. "Hope I didn't miss much"

Mirajane looked at Vincent; she knew something had happened, but she didn't say anything. She quietly held Vincent's hand; Vincent in turn smiled at her and held her hand strongly.

They continued down the remains of the layer, until they hit the part where Eclipse once stood. There were grave stones around the hall.

"Who made these?" asked Wendy.

"Pendragon" said Vincent. Everyone looked at him. "I can feel his touch in here"

Natsu was looking around the hall. He knew he's been here before.

"What happened here?"

"War" said Vincent. Nobody said anything else.

They continued to the place where Lucy fell. Three shadows were standing in front of them. Two of them the Fairy Tail mages knew instantly; it was Jellal and Meledy. The third one was Erza.

"Erza!" "Erza-san!" said Gray and Wendy at the same time.

"Everyone…" said Erza. She didn't know what to say.

"You don't need to say anything, Erza" said Mirajane, going in to hug her. Erza hugged her back, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Welcome back, Titania" said Vincent. "Sorry, _Erza_" he said with a smile.

Erza was greeted by everyone, until she realized Natsu was there.

"Natsu…"

"Um… hello" said Natsu, rather sheepishly.

Erza looked at Vincent. "You brought him along?"

"We could not just leave him"

"Has he…" said Erza quietly, so Natsu wouldn't hear it.

"No, we haven't told him about Lucy"

"So he doesn't know this is…"

"No" said Mirajane. "But… we all thought she will rest in peace if we bring her here"

Erza nodded. She didn't need any more explanation.

Wendy laid down the flowers she had onto the area where Lucy last stood.

"A minute of Silence" said Laxus, "To our fallen Friend"

Everyone closed their eyes. Natsu looked around to see everyone paying their respects, so he closed his eyes too.

The atmosphere became really cold. It was so cold, that everyone's breath was starting to show in the air. The wind was blowing through the collapsed ceiling. Everything was quiet.

_This is strange_, thought Vincent. _It's never this quiet or cold here…_

He suddenly realized what was happening, and opened his eyes. "Everyone open your eyes NOW!"

With that shout, everyone opened their eyes. They realized something was wrong; time had stopped moving. They looked around what was going on.

"What's going on?!" shouted Laxus.

"I don't know" said Vincent. "But there's only one being I know who can do this"

Erza, Gray and Wendy knew who Vincent was talking about. When they looked up, a giant being fell from the heavens, landing onto the ground. It was—

"The Celestial Spirit King" Vincent stated.

The Celestial King stood there, looking down at the Fairy Tail Mages. He looked saddened after he looked at Natsu.

"Seems like one friend cannot remember what happened here" The Celestial King spoke. "or who he is"

"Why did you turn up here?" asked Vincent. The Celestial King looked at him. "None of us are Celestial mages. Why have you shown up in front of us?"

"I came here to explain to you about our old good friend" said the Celestial King.

Vincent was confused, but Gray, Erza and Wendy knew exactly who he was talking about.

"LUCY!"

"Is she alive?!" screeched Erza.

The Celestial King looked at the three. He didn't say anything. "When our old good friend was hit with the Dragon Slayer Magic, she should have disappeared straight away. But luckily, a fragment of her remained"

"It was her memory that remained intact. It landed in the celestial world, where all her celestial spirits helped to keep it alive"

Near the Celestial king, Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Sagittarius, Aries, Scorpio, Gemini and Capricorn showed up. They were all looking at where Lucy last stood.

"They did not want our old good friend to die" said the Celestial King. "They begged me to resurrect our old good friend. I cannot do that; it is against the celestial world's law, even I cannot change that. But then, Leo came up with a fantastic idea"

Out of the corner, Loke turned up. Everyone was happy to see him; no one has seen him for two years since Lucy died.

"I said to the spirit king that if all of us use our power a little, we can resurrect Lucy from her memory. And we all did. Even the spirits that are not under contract with Lucy wanted to help out"

From the shadows, the other two Zodiacs, Pisces and Libra came out. "We're under contract with Yukino Aguria, but we saw how she helped our master during the Grand Magic Games. We wanted to help her this time"

"Now if the 12 Zodiacs were intending to help our old good friend" the Celestial King smiled, "I couldn't say no to that. With all of the spirits power, and mine combined, we were able to save our old good friend. We return her to you!"

And with that statement, The Celestial Spirit King gathered his power, and shot at the ground. The Fairy Tail mages stepped back. There was a bright light, and then a light pillar came from the sky, hitting the ground. A shadow started to be seen in the light.

"It… it can't be…" Vincent looked upon, his eyes widening with shock. The other Fairy Tail mages were equally, perhaps more shocked than Vincent was.

From the light, a blonde girl stepped out. It was Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. She had returned from the dead.


End file.
